Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2007
67 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will report on the activities of the National Sports Campus; the number of people that have utilised the facilities; the expected development of the stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11532/07]
Amharc ar fhreagra75 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his intentions in regard to the development of the remainder of the Abbotstown site; if it will be in the context of Campus Stadium Ireland or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11768/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 75 together.
With regard to the overall development of the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown, the House is aware that the Government has provided €149 million under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 for the development of a campus of sports facilities. This comprises €119 million to fund phase 1 of the campus project and €30 million, committed at this stage, towards the development of further facilities in the next phase of development.
The facilities to be provided in phase 1 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 for projected statistics of use of the facilities but the national governing bodies have confirmed their willingness to use the facility extensively when it is developed.
The facilities provided in phase 1 of the project will include a national field sports training centre catering for rugby, soccer, Gaelic games and hockey; a national indoor training centre that will provide world class training facilities for over 30 governing bodies of sport; accommodation for sports men and women; sports science and 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 headquarters of the FAI to the former State laboratory building at Abbotstown. Planning permission for a change of use of the State laboratory was secured and work on the building is about to get under way. Subject to suitable terms on the lease being finalised, it is expected the FAI will relocate there during this year. It is also intended to provide a headquarters for the Irish Institute of 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, including my Department, 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, I established the National Sports Campus Development Authority on a statutory basis to succeed in function and responsibility Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Company Ltd, CSID. To coincide with the new authority, I appointed a board comprising a judicious mix of the board members of the former company CSID and some new faces who will bring expertise to the tasks facing the new authority, under the chairmanship of Mr. Dan Flinter. In addition to overseeing the development of phase 1 of the campus, I have requested that the new board would identify and prioritise the next phase of the development of the Abbotstown project.
The National Aquatic Centre, NAC, which was the first facility on the site, was restored to the direct control of what is now the National Sports Campus Development Authority in November 2006. This brought closure of an unhappy chapter for that facility. The operation of the NAC is now managed by a subsidiary company of the National Sports Campus Development Authority. I am pleased to say the business of the centre is operating satisfactorily — the facility is now in good condition and a full check on the total facility is being carried out with a view to putting the centre on a footing which is appropriate to the standard of service it is capable of delivering. 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.
The NAC is a flagship development on the campus. Will the Minister confirm that extensive repairs have been carried out in recent times and that the building company, Ascon Rohcon, has been on site for some weeks, confirming that there were large defects in the original building? This side of the House maintained the fine building should be repaired because it was built speedily. What was the extent of the repairs? Has the snag list been resolved? Since the subsidiary of National Sports Campus Development Authority took over the centre it is reportedly losing a considerable amount of money in running costs.
I do not have the figures for the running costs. This is an extremely successful development, with thousands of people visiting it every year.
Is it making money? Everyone knows it is successful.
There was a legal case involving Dublin Waterworld Ltd and CSID was obliged to initiative legal proceedings against the former for forfeiture of the lease at the NAC because of its failure to comply with obligations under the lease. The NAC was taken over by CSID, which is now the National Sports Campus Development Authority. There was a snag list and, as with all construction projects, there is a process for dealing with any snags that arise. Dublin Waterworld Ltd refused to facilitate access to the centre while a dispute about the lease was in progress. The final snag list is not yet satisfactorily resolved. Some €23,000 has been retained and will not be paid until the snag list has been completed. Getting these matters resolved is a long, drawn out process in projects of this magnitude. Work will resume and remaining issues will be resolved without delay. If there are any structural defects this is a matter for Rohcon.
Will the 30 national sporting organisations have a presence at the campus or will the total operation of each organisation be undertaken from Abbotstown? What will be the cost of this? Will premises be leased for an annual fee?
It is not intended that the headquarters of each body be located at Abbotstown in the near future. The FAI headquarters will move there immediately and the Institute of Sport will be there by the end of the year. Other national governing bodies of sport will move headquarters to Abbotstown. The training centre provided under phase 1 will provide world class training facilities for over 30 governing bodies of sport. It will not be an accommodation centre but a training centre for minority sports. For example, there will be a basketball court for Basketball Ireland. This will enable elite athletes from the governing bodies of sport to reach their full potential. Back-up will be provided by the Institute of Sport, providing medical, nutritional and physiological advice. The intention is to ensure our athletes have the same back-up as those in other countries. The vision is that this commences the construction of a necklace with pearls of varying sizes being added at varying intervals by various Governments until the necklace is complete.
The Minister and the Taoiseach announced the establishment of the Institute of Sport some time ago. Legislation will be needed to underpin the establishment. Will there be time to rush through legislation? Will the Minister refer briefly to the relationship between the new institute and Coaching Ireland in Limerick? The experts will be in the institute, while the coaches will be developed in Limerick. Has the Minister determined what the relationship will be between the two bodies? The Institute of Sport will obviously include science and medical personnel, while the coaching staff in Limerick will, no doubt, include all the top coaches.
Since time and tide wait for no man, I do not anticipate that we will be in a position to push through the legislation for the Institute of Sport this session. I anticipate, however, that the legislation will be introduced some time this year in order to put the institute on a statutory footing. Clearly, it will be a matter for the Minister, whoever he or she will be, to decide what direction the institute should take. I have views of my own to which he or she may have access if I am not in office.
On the relationship of the Institute of Sport with the University of Limerick, it is the intention that the institute will have a great deal of contact with a number of universities, the University of Limerick, in particular, which has been enormously successful. The National Coaching Centre hosted more than 20 athletes who went on to win Olympic medals. That is indicative of the standard of facilities and personnel located at the centre. However, the Institute of Sport will have its headquarts at Abbotstown. While the arrangements between the headquarters and constituent parts of the organisation have yet to be fully ironed out, suffice it to say the University of Limerick will play an active part in the development of facilities for the institute and related matters.
