Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 April 2004
142 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if a departmental monitoring team has been appointed to oversee the construction of the proposed national stadium at Lansdowne Road; and, if not, the timescale envisaged for its establishment. [10616/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra145 Mr. Coveney asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the work schedule for the new stadium at Lansdowne Road, including the possible commencement and completion dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10629/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra160 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the plans that have been finalised for the development of the Landsdowne Road stadium; and the cost and timeframe involved in the proposal. [10570/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra165 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress that has been made by the steering group comprised of representatives of the FAI, the IRFU, the OPW and his Department to oversee the construction of the new national stadium at Lansdowne Road; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10635/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra272 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress in the provision of national stadia with the objective of meeting all foreseeable requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10886/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 145, 160, 165 and 272 together.
Preparatory work leading to the construction of a new stadium at Lansdowne Road is already under way. Since the Government's decision of 27 January to support a joint IRFU-FAI proposal to redevelop Lansdowne Road stadium as a 50,000 all seated stadium, my Department has been in regular contact with both the IRFU and the FAI to plan for project implementation.
A steering group has been established to advance the project. Chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, its membership comprises representatives of the IRFU, FAI, my Department and the OPW. Its first formal meeting was held on 23 February with two subsequent meetings held in March. A priority for the steering group is to ensure that all the legal, financial, planning and procurement requirements are met in an efficient and timely manner so actual construction work can get under way at the earliest possible date.
The construction phase is expected to take 29 months and is scheduled to commence in 2006 and to be completed by the end of 2008. The delivery of the project will be the joint responsibility of the IRFU and the FAI which have approved the establishment of a special purpose vehicle to this end. Discussions on the text of a formal grant agreement between my Department on the one hand and the IRFU and FAI on the other are well advanced and I expect them to reach finality in the coming weeks.
I am glad the steering group is up and running, which leads to my next question. How often will the group report back to the Minister and how often will he report to the House on the group's findings? Will there be a half-yearly report on progress? How quickly will any delays be pinpointed? Is there an envelope of funding guaranteed over the period or will subsequent budgets affect the process? Is the funding ring-fenced?
The steering group, under the Secretary General of my Department, Mr. Furlong, will report to me on a very regular basis. Mr. Furlong already reports to me on a regular basis about the ongoing work on the new stadium. Obviously whenever I am required by Members to answer questions about the stadium I will be only too pleased to do so. We have Question Time once a month and I will be quite happy to answer any questions which come up or which are submitted to me in writing.
Deputies will be aware that the time frame for the work seeks the completion of the stadium during 2008. It was anticipated that the special purpose vehicle would be established in 2004 and I have explained that that has been done. We are then to have the appointment of a project leader, project managers and design team, all engaged by the special purpose vehicle. In 2005 I anticipate that the developed scheme will be prepared and the planning application lodged and I anticipate that in 2006 planning permission will be secured, with detailed design prepared and the tender for the work opened. I hope work on construction commences around July 2006 and continues that year and through 2007, with the project being completed in 2008.
The Minister referred to securing planning permission in 2006. Would it be possible to begin negotiations with the local residents to discuss planning concerns? That is what usually delays planning permission. Planning permission can be secured in a matter of months once the design is completed, but that is only if people's concerns are taken on board. The project team should do its best to facilitate everyone. That is very important and those negotiations should begin immediately.
The IRFU has been extremely responsible on this matter, as it has been on everything relating to the stadium. It has already met residents of the Lansdowne Road area to discuss the proposals and obviously an application such as this will be subject to the rigours of the planning process in the same way as any other application. There are no guarantees I can give about objections. All I can say is I hope we can keep to or improve upon the time frame I envisage. However, I do not want to give rise to any false hopes and therefore I have consistently stated that it is my ambition that the stadium would be completed during 2008. I hope this time frame can be adhered to and I am confident that will be the case, but the project will have to go through the planning process in the normal way.
Given the huge implications for the Exchequer of losing international matches in soccer and rugby, has any thought been given to alternative venues for international matches? Has there been any contact between the Minister and the two organisations involved, the IRFU and the FAI, on how this is to be overcome? Surely now is the time to start talking to overcome the problem rather than reaching construction stage in 2006 while still wondering if this massive loss to the Exchequer will occur. I know we have a limited choice of venues but now is the time to address this. The Minister will have my support, my party's support and the support of every Member in trying to overcome this problem, but now is the time to start negotiations on it. What are the Minister's views on this issue?
I omitted to reply to one of Deputy Gogarty's questions. A financial envelope has been put in place for this and the Government has agreed, at current prices, to put up €191 million, with the remainder to be put up by the IRFU and FAI.
Deputy Wall mentioned a replacement venue while the new stadium is under construction, which is obviously a matter of great concern to me. The facts are that construction will take approximately 29 months and it is difficult to say for how long during construction the stadium will be closed completely. However, it is without question that it will be closed completely and people will then ask where international games in particular will be played while Lansdowne Road is closed. I agree with Deputy Wall that that question has to be addressed between now and the anticipated commencement date in 2006.
Arising from the Minister's reply, to what extent will he undertake discussions and negotiations with the various sporting bodies likely to be affected in the event of the new stadium not being completed within the deadline? For example, to what extent will the Minister engage with the various sporting bodies to try to ensure that major games scheduled for Ireland in the intervening period will not have to be played outside the country? To what extent will he engage with all the sporting bodies in order to determine the options which will be available?
It is very important that international games are not played outside the country at any point during the construction phase. It would be a great blow to the morale and prestige of sport in the country if that were to happen and I will engage in as much dialogue and discussion with the major sporting organisations as is humanly possible to see if we can bring about a resolution to that problem. As I say, we have some time within which we can do this, between now and the commencement date in 2006, but there should be no complacency. These fixtures must often be planned far in advance and in fairness to the sporting organisations, it is necessary that they have some indication of what is going to happen. I know they have given this matter some thought already and that the issue has been broached in discussions, though we have not gone into any great detail. Clearly the issue will have to be addressed in far greater detail in the near future.
