Vol. 557 No. 5
49 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position regarding his discussions with private developers in relation to the provision of a national stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22764/02]
Twenty three companies or consortia responded by the closing date of 18 October last to my Department's request for expressions of interest in the provision of a national stadium. These submissions will be of assistance to my Department in its evaluation of the requirements for a viable public private partnership to procure a national stadium. Examination of these expressions of interest by an assessment panel, which is chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and whose membership comprises senior officials from the Department of Finance, the Office of Public Works, the National Treasury Management Agency, the Attorney General's office and Campus Stadium Ireland Limited is ongoing.
I attach a great deal of importance to ensuring that this process is managed in an open and transparent manner. Accordingly, there have been no contacts or discussions between myself or my officials and parties interested in providing the stadium, other than to seek clarification on points of detail in some of the expressions of interest received. I have, however, taken steps to ensure that the major sporting bodies involved in the stadium project are kept abreast of developments.
Has the Minister set a date for making a decision? As he will be aware, UEFA will make its decision regardless of whether the Irish soccer bid will be successful on 12 December. If a decision has been made by that time on whether the stadium will proceed by way of private investment, surely that would boost considerably the chances of success of our bid. Will the Minister be more definite about a date on which he will make a decision? If the decision is made after that date, it will certainly reduce our chances of being successful in securing the hosting of this important tournament.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is fully supportive of the joint bid for the European Championships in 2008 which, as he correctly pointed out, will be decided by UEFA in December. I have no doubt that it would certainly help if we were in a position by then to state categorically where precisely we hope to host the games in so far as they apply to this country. In that respect, the Taoiseach has written to the GAA authorities requesting them to make Croke Park available for the European Championships in 2008 in the event of the bid being successful. In addition to that, I have explained that we are examining the expressions of interest from all 23 parties and it is hoped that we would conclude the assessment of these expressions within a short period following which I would be obliged to go to Government with a recommendation.
It must also be remembered, although it is sometimes forgotten, that the option of Lansdowne Road remains a live one. In other words, it has never been the case that we were putting forward only two venues. It has always been the case that there were three possible venues, two of which might be made available. That remains the position.
I am glad the Minister is coming around to my way of thinking at the start of this process, that Lansdowne Road is a possibility. If there was a joint proposal from the IRFU and the FAI, is he still considering that a revamped Lansdowne Road may be the solution to our stad ium problem? Is he aware of the importance of being successful in our bid to host the European Championships? The games would attract approximately 90,000 overseas visitors to this country, bring in approximately €50 million and expose us to a television audience of seven billion people in 200 countries. Therefore, it is of major importance. I am sure the Minister would agree that if we go with something definite to UEFA on 12 December, we will be successful in our bid, but if we procrastinate we will not be. I would like to hear something more definite on the proposed stadium.
There will be no question of deliberate procrastination. I am anxious, as is the Deputy, that this bid should succeed. He correctly pointed out that securing it would be of major benefit to our economy in terms of the revenue that would be generated, the visitors who would come here and the exposure to a cumulative television audience of seven billion worldwide. As I said on previous occasions, that would be advertising one could not buy.
In addition to that, every effort is being made to finalise the consideration of the expressions of interest to ascertain how we will proceed from here. Lansdowne Road has never been excluded and is not excluded at this point. Our bid has every chance of success. I think it remains the best available option for UEFA. I say that because it appears the other favourites are the Austrians and the Swiss who have made a bid. My understanding of the position is that at least four stadia would have to be built before the games could proceed. In addition to that, I understand that in relation to at least one stadium, a stadium in Geneva, there is considerable difficulty regarding its cost. It also appears that the construction of one stadium would require a referendum to be held in Switzerland regarding the use of a piece of land. People should not be pessimistic about the Scottish-Irish bid. It is very advanced and it deserves to be successful. It has the wholehearted support of Members of this House, in particular the Opposition spokespersons on sport.
