John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

I 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.

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