The Government has agreed to proceed with the development of state-of-the-art sporting infrastructure at Abbotstown. In February I met the board of Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Limited. I outlined the Government's views for the sports campus to the members of the board and asked them to provide me with a phased and prioritised proposal, with a sporting and business case and annual budgets, which would deliver the component elements of the campus within a realistic timeframe by building on and updating the existing framework plan for the site, in consultation with the various interested parties and taking account of developments which have taken place in the meantime.
The campus will very likely include pitches and training facilities, administrative facilities for the smaller sporting bodies who depend very largely on voluntary commitment. It might also include medical and training support for elite athlete development and, eventually, an indoor sporting arena, which it is expected would attract private sector investment.
CSID has been given the responsibility for translating this concept into an action plan for delivery and overseeing a programme of development that, over time, will be seen as accomplishing a major transformation in the quality of Ireland's sporting infrastructure. I understand that it has commenced the process of consultation with the various interested parties, in particular the national governing bodies of sport.