A number of queries have arisen since I tabled this Adjournment matter which I hope the Minister will address in his reply. My constituents in the greater Castleknock area have contacted me on this matter. There is great concern within that large residential community that a concert which could attract more than 100,000 people is to be foisted on these in the perimeter of Castleknock, courtesy of the Minister. On a more important political note, will the Minister inform the House if some selective procedure has been employed to deal with this? Has a promoter been given some exclusivity without a proper tendering process and, if so, why?
There are probably three venues at which such a concert could be staged without infringing on the Phoenix Park. They are Croke Park, Lansdowne Road and the RDS — three rate paying establishments that have staged such concerts in the past. Why is it necessary for this form of commercialisation to be brought into the Phoenix Park? It never happened before. Why has it been done on an exclusive basis? There are a number of people capable of promoting and developing such projects and it should not be selectively handled.
Responsibility for insurance is a matter of serious concern to my constituents. We are reliably informed that the proposed promoters are suggesting they cannot be responsible for the safety of children, people's homes or their possessions at the time of the concert. Most complications and problems arise outside the concert area. Tragically that was the case in Slane and other locations. The venues I mentioned have stadium facilities with proper management, fire control and other facilities. The Phoenix Park is not such a location. Does this matter go back to the Minister's former colleagues in Hot Press and their involvement, if at all, in this project? Is there some kind of insider dealing involved?
A public venue is being used. Dublin Corporation has been subsumed into this process and to circumvent the process of a proper planning application it is effectively a part promoter of the concert, which ensures that the planning requirement is avoided. In the normal course of events this project would necessitate a planning application and probably an environmental impact study based on the projected numbers that would attend such a concert. Will those procedures be followed? Will the people I represent have a say in these matters or will their area be infringed upon as a result of the railroad approach adopted by the Minister's Department, Dublin Corporation and those brought in to promote the concert on some sort of exclusive basis? The staging of the concert in this venue is unacceptable, undesirable and unnecessary as the stadium facilities in the city are properly equipped, pay commercial rates and have the capacity to stage such an event. Using the Phoenix Park is an abuse of a public amenity for profiteering purposes and the Minister should not be party to what is proposed in this instance.