Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State's comments about North-South co-operation and striving to build cross-community relationships. The amount pledged by the Government has been broadly welcomed in all corners of our country, along with the £50 million from the UK Government, the £62 million from Stormont and the £15 million from the GAA.

Although the project is still some way short of the £260 million price tag and we expect that to rise due to inflation, the progress in recent weeks is welcome, despite the many delays. The critical thing now is to bring everyone together to ensure that work is started on the stadium as soon as possible. This will not be just beneficial to the GAA but will be of huge social and economic benefit to Belfast and to all of us in creating jobs and attracting investment.

I also welcome the comments of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste last Friday following the North-South Ministerial Council meeting reiterating the Irish Government's commitment to this project and that they stand ready to assist it. I urge the Government to do all it can to support this project through to completion.

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