John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the National Sports Campus Development Authority Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to establish the authority on a statutory basis. It will succeed the existing limited company Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Limited in its functional responsibility and will continue the role of overseeing planning and development of the sports campus at Abbotstown.

I compliment the Minister not only on this legislation and the establishment of the authority but on the vision that has gone into Abbotstown and what will be a national sports campus. Much of the preliminary work for the authority has been done. From the point of view of the general facility and what we are trying to achieve, much has been done in that regard.

Having listened to the contributions and speaking to others, it is interesting to note that while everybody welcomes the idea of a national sports campus, different people have different ideas. At the same time people are asking that the campus not be provided if it means Leader facilities will be jeopardised, as Deputy Murphy said. Never before have such resources been put into a wide range of sporting facilities in our local communities. Every Member here can identify the sporting facilities that have been provided at local level in their own areas.

One of the first comments made about the national sports campus at Abbotstown is in regard to the National Aquatic Centre. It is interesting that many people have not seen the centre. They think it is nothing more than a glorified swimming pool, but it is much more than that. It is unfortunate that when people talk about it, they do not realise what is in the centre. Apart from an international size swimming pool, there is a fun park for children and, as far as I know, Ireland's only international standard diving facilities are all contained in the National Aquatic Centre. Those are top class facilities. I and my children have used them on many occasions. I am disappointed to hear people running down the facility because it is top class. I have not seen better anywhere in the country. I would go as far as to say the facilities at the NAC are as good as any I have seen abroad.

It is regrettable that we do not take a little more pride in what we have achieved to date because from my point of view and that of the country, it is an excellent facility. I acknowledge the storm caused a problem with the roof but how many of us have had building works done where some aspect did not work out? It is worth noting that in this case the problems that occurred were put right by the contractor without additional cost to the State.

Deputy Burton said that she had been told such a centre could be delivered in another country for €10 million or €20 million cheaper. I was surprised to hear the Deputy make that argument, which is not valid, because our cost base is based on a certain minimum wage and so on which does not necessarily apply in other countries. I did not hear her say she could buy a Big Mac for half the price in Portugal or Spain. That is the nature of her argument. The contract for the National Aquatic Centre was awarded on a competitive tendering basis and many comments have been made about that.

I want to refer to a specific point which comes from the Committee of Public Accounts. It published its sixth interim report in November 2005. The first finding of the committee on page 2 states that the National Aquatic Centre was completed in March 2003 on time and within its budget of €71 million. Many of the comments I hear do not reflect that Committee of Public Accounts finding. We are too quick to knock the National Aquatic Centre, which is a fine development at Abbotstown.

I acknowledge and compliment the contribution of the Government, particularly the Minister, who is present, to sport generally over the past few years, which it continues to make. Deputy Murphy indicated that having Abbotstown as a national centre of excellence was not sufficient if it meant that feeder facilities throughout the country were deprived of funding. That is not the case. In constituencies throughout the country we can see the development of a range of sporting facilities not seen before. In the area where I was born and grew up, the difference between the facilities where I played and those where my sons now play is like chalk and cheese. The transformation of sporting facilities at local level has been significant in recent years and that should be recognised. We can all argue that there should be more, but the transformation has been staggering. I will refer to some of the specific developments later but while I remember to do so I compliment the local authority in my area, South Dublin County Council, which in many instances has been the lead agency in bringing together a variety of clubs and organisations to ensure maximum resources were achieved and facilities utilised to their optimum. I will examine those facilities in more detail.

The sports funding, to put it in context for the current year, is just under €250 million. The Irish Sports Council will get over €40 million. I understand the swimming pool programme will get €100 million and funding will be given to the greyhound and horse racing industries. In the allocation of funding in the current year — the Minister can correct me if I am wrong — approximately €10 million will go to the national campus. It is worth noting that the figures indicate money is being allocated at local level, apart from funding athletes directly, and that is significant.

The Minister also is providing in the current year €20 million for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road for the IRFU and the FAI. The total funding from the Government on that major project will be in the region of €190 million but it is important to take that in context. People who spoke in the debate on this Bill are concerned that all we are doing is providing a national sports campus and nothing else, but that is not the case. Much more than that is being provided. Deputy Joe Higgins spoke about equality of access and so forth. This is a national sports campus. There will be a community facility in that but it is worth remembering the objective to be achieved in the provision of a national sports campus. A national sports campus cannot be taken in isolation from the other facilities available. That is the point I would make in terms of facilities at local and other national stadiums.

On a personal level — the Minister will not be happy to hear me say it again — I am disappointed with the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road in its current location. That is a personal view.

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