John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

There have been no concrete agreements yet on precisely how we might co-operate on the 2012 Olympic Games. The meeting which I had with Minister Hanson was purely preliminary. We discussed generalities and no concrete proposal came from the meeting other than the fact that we agreed that co-operation was of pivotal importance. In that respect, it also was noted that there is a considerable number of facilities in this jurisdiction which might be utilised in the context of the 2012 games.

Since there are no definitive proposals or inquiries, it would clearly be remiss of me to seek to give any indication as to who was looking for accommodation or facilities. If we are to attract teams from abroad, the construction of the first phase at Abbotstown would be of immense importance. If our facilities are sufficient, athletes will be attracted here. We have a number of top class facilities which can be utilised but the first phase of the campus would be a considerable addition to those.

Our proximity to London is well documented. Indeed, some have suggested that it would be easier to get from Dublin to London than from Manchester to London during the course of the games and I believe that is true. Co-operation will continue and officials from my Department will enter into discussions with their counterparts in the North with a view to coming forward with concrete proposals on co-operation. This will be to the mutual benefit of each jurisdiction.

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