Mr. Adrian Neilan:

At the point by which the letter was developed, it became very clear that the fill was not coming in the quantities that were required. We are talking about 100,000 cubes of fill. It is a significant amount in the context of an 11 acre site, 4.5 metres high. There is an awful lot of fill involved. It became very clear towards the end of that period that the fill was not coming on board. We worked with our engineers to come up with a fill statement. The letter clearly was not signed - I accept that. However, events transpired in such a way as to make it almost immaterial in the context of having only 20 or 30 loads of earth fill being drawn in that period of time. In order for the project to be completed, the board made a decision to procure fill. We procured commercial-quality fill that allowed the site to be filled in a manner which allowed the construction to go ahead. We did not want to be faced with a situation where no construction took place. The Deputy made reference to country-wide employment. Since 2003, owners in Limerick and Clare had been looking for a new stadium in Limerick. The existing stadium was not fit for purpose. The project was to develop a stadium that they could base their livelihoods on and that was our charter.