John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

This Bill provides for the establishment of the national sports campus development authority, which will succeed in function and responsibility the present limited company, Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Limited, CSID, and continue the role of overseeing, planning and developing a sports campus at Abbotstown. I wish to address the context in which the Bill is being presented. Sport is very important to the Irish people and it is good for us. An active interest in sport promotes good health and well-being and provides essential exercise when we lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Sport also provides a sense of identity in our parish, our county and our country or even our continent as we will find when the Ryder Cup comes to Ireland. Following the efforts of elite sportsmen and women allows us to rise above the day-to-day pressures, affords us a positive rush of good feeling, allows us to cheer out loud and even if our hopes are dashed we recover and look forward to striving again on another day. It has become an important objective of this Government to promote sport and the participation in sport and to deliver top-class sporting facilities.

Over the past few years Irish sportsmen and women have shown that they can scale the heights in many fields of sporting endeavour. The achievements this year of Ireland's Triple Crown winning team, Munster's Heineken Cup winning performance, Ulster's winning of the Celtic League and Derval O'Rourke's gold medal winning performance serve as a boost for our identity as a great sporting nation.

Since taking office in 1997, the Government has recognised the importance of sport and has appointed the first Minister with responsibility for sport to the Cabinet. The Government continues to believe in the value of sport and provided funding and support to back this up. The budget for sport this year is €243 million including horse and greyhound funding. To put this in context, the total funding for sport in 1997, capital and current, was just €17.5 million. By the end of 2006, the Government will have invested more than €900 million in sport since 1997.

The Government has made a considerable effort to bring our sporting infrastructure into line with best international standards. This legislation is a step towards the development of the Abbotstown campus which provides modern and well-equipped sporting facilities, giving our sportsmen and women the edge in preparation for international competition.

I draw the attention of Senators to the background to the campus at Abbotstown. On 15 November 2005 the Government approved the development of phase 1 of the sports campus at Abbotstown as set out in the development control plan prepared by CSID, which consulted widely when drawing up this plan. Phase 1 of the development control plan will provide a national field sports training centre for rugby, soccer, Gaelic games and hockey and a national indoor training centre that will provide world-class training facilities for over 30 governing bodies of sport, such as badminton, basketball, bowling, boxing, judo and table tennis. Accommodation for sportsmen and women, sports science and medical facilities, and all-weather synthetic pitches for community use will also be provided. Existing buildings will be renovated to cater for needs identified by sports bodies. This phase of the sports campus is part of a large complex of sporting facilities that will be located at Abbotstown in the future.

A multifunctional national indoor training centre will be provided. It will have changing facilities, a sports hall with 1,500 spectator seats and an ancillary hall suitable for a wide range of indoor sports. It is intended that the training requirements of up to 30 national governing bodies will be met in this indoor centre.

This is not the only development of infrastructure on a national level. Senators will also be aware that the Government is contributing €191 million to the joint IRFU-FAI project for the redevelopment of the Lansdowne Road stadium. We are also developing a network of top-quality facilities around the country designed to meet the training, coaching and competition needs of our elite competitors in a wide spectrum of sports. Among the major projects supported are the Croke Park stadium, the National Aquatic Centre, the National Rowing Centre at Inniscarra, the National Tennis Centre, the National Boxing Stadium and the National Hockey Stadium at UCD.

In tandem with developments at a national level, we have also been conscious of developments at a local level. In this regard, the sports capital programme has made a substantial contribution. I recently announced the allocation of €53,745,200 to over 700 sports projects around the country under this scheme. More than 5,600 projects have benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, providing a range of essential sports facilities and bringing the total allocation of sports capital funding in that period to €448.63 million. The unprecedented level of investment in sport is clear evidence of the importance the Government attaches to the provision of modern, well-equipped and well-managed sporting facilities supported by a wide range of programmes that have a real benefit in our communities.

The facilities at Abbotstown will be available to the public as well as elite athletes. It will be available to those who wish to participate in sport simply for enjoyment or exercise or for those who wish to avail of Abbotstown as a recreational amenity. As part of the development plan a number of synthetic pitches will be provided whose primary purpose is to serve clubs and the local community. Any downtime that is available in the elite facilities will be made available to clubs and individuals.

The Bill contains three parts. Part 1, preliminary and general, covers sections 1 to 4 and contains standard provisions regarding short title and definitions of key terms used in the Bill. Part 2 covers sections 5 to 31 and deals with the establishment of the authority, describes the authority's functions and provides for the transfer of the Abbotstown site.

Sections 5 and 6 provide for the establishment of the authority and the power to acquire, hold and dispose of land and other property. Section 7 describes the authority's functions. The primary functions of the authority will be to develop a sports campus on the site and promote its use by professional and amateur sportspeople and members of the public. It also provides for the conveyance of the site currently owned by the Minister for Agriculture and Food to the authority. Sections 9 and 13 deal with the board and the appointment of a chief executive. The powers given to the authority are provided for in part two.

Under section 8 the authority is empowered to enter into agreements with others to perform its functions, recover debts and engage consultants. Section 11 provides for the right to establish committees. Sections 14 and 15 provide for the appointment and superannuation of staff. Section 25 gives the authority the power to withhold consent to renewal of a lease or tenancy. Section 28 provides for the establishment of subsidiaries, a company, or entering a joint venture. Section 29 allows the authority to borrow with the approval of the Minister given with the consent of the Minister for Finance. Section 31 gives the authority the power to compulsorily acquire land adjoining the site for access purposes. Schedule 2 sets out the procedures that shall apply in this limited case of compulsory acquisition.

Section 18 contains the standard prohibitions on members of the authority holding public office. Section 19 empowers the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, to advance funding to the authority. Sections 20 and 22 contain standard provisions for the submission of audited accounts and annual reports to the Minister. Section 24 allows the Minister to give general policy directions to the authority. Part 3 deals with transitional provisions and covers sections 32 to 39. This part provides for the dissolution of CSID and the transfer of existing staff to the new authority.

The Bill marks a further step in the on-going development of a network of infrastructure across the country. A considerable amount of effort has been put into the planning of the sports campus. The establishment of the legislation puts the developing authority on a firm statutory footing. I look forward to further developments at Abbotstown and I commend this Bill to the House.