Mr. Adrian Neilan:

My colleague is handing out information to the committee members. The decision to purchase the site at Greenpark on Dock Road was made after an examination of 11 sites by the consultants retained by IGB. On balance the board decided the site was most suitable for the development of the new stadium because of its proximity to a new road network; it was within walking distance of Limerick city centre and served by public transport; it was also properly serviced by the ESB, gas, power and sewage; there was road access to the new stadium; and car parking would have been provided at an attractive cost. As I set out earlier, the decision to undertake a project of this scale stems from the fact the previous stadium was loss-making and not fit for purpose. Our head office is also in Limerick and this was not fit for purpose either. Based on our plan, Limerick stadium will become the centre of how we project greyhound racing abroad. It is also worth stating the Limerick project created 250 construction jobs over a 14 month period and its operation has resulted in 50 incremental part-time and full-time employees.

There is a narrative at work with regard to the Limerick project which is informed by untruths. All of these claims are utterly untrue and I will go through them in a little more detail.