Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:203 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his proposals for the future development at Campus Stadium Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12099/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 28 March 2007
Ceisteanna (165)
Freagraí scríofa
With regard to the future development of the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown, the Government has provided an amount of €149m under the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013 for the development of a Campus of Sports Facilities. This comprises €119m to fund Phase One of the Campus project and €30m, committed at this stage, towards the development of further facilities in the next phase of development.
The facilities to be provided in Phase One of the development will meet the indoor and outdoor training needs of Irish elite sportspersons who compete at national and international levels and will also provide for the needs of the local community. Preliminary planning for this phase has commenced and the National Sports Campus Development Authority is currently preparing a Tender to appoint a Design and Project Management Team for the project. It is too early in the development stage of the project to have projected statistics for utilisation of the facilities but the National Governing Bodies have confirmed their willingness to use the facility extensively, when it is developed.
The facilities to be provided in Phase One of the project will include: a National Field Sports training centre, catering for rugby, soccer, Gaelic games and hockey; a National Indoor Training Centre which will provide world class training facilities for over 30 Governing Bodies of Sport; accommodation for sports men and women; sports science/medical facilities; all-weather synthetic pitches for community use; and renovation of existing buildings to cater for needs identified by sports bodies.
The Government decision for this stage of development included agreement to move the HQ of FAI to the former State Laboratory building at Abbotstown. Planning permission for a change of use for the State Laboratory was secured and work on the building is about to get underway. Subject to suitable terms on the lease being finalised, it is expected that the FAI will relocate there during this year. It is also intended to provide a headquarters for the Institute for Sport by refurbishing an existing building on the site and the Institute should be based there later this year.
A planning study for the Abbotstown site has recently been completed by an inter-agency group, which included the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, which was undertaken under the provisions of the Fingal County Development Plan. This Study sets out the mix of sporting, leisure, and amenity facilities that would be appropriate for the site. The Planning Study was presented to Fingal County Council and was considered at a Council Meeting on 12 March. A proposal to change the Zoning of a large portion of the site to "Open Space" to allow for Sports Use and for the woodland area of the site to be zoned "High Amenity" will be considered by the Council before the summer.
In January, under the National Sports Campus Development Authority Act 2006, the National Sports Campus Development Authority was established on a statutory basis to succeed in function and responsibility Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Company Ltd (CSID). To coincide with the coming into being of the new Authority, the Board was appointed which was composed of a judicious mix of the Board Members of the former company CSID and some new faces who will bring their particular expertise to the tasks facing the new Authority, under the Chairmanship of Mr Dan Flinter. In addition to overseeing the development of Phase One of the Campus, the new Board has been requested to identify and prioritise the next phase of the development of the Abbotstown project.
The Abbotstown facilities, when completed will provide a much needed range of training and competitive facilities for our sportspersons who continue to represent our country with passion, pride and success.