John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

Unfortunately, we are at an impasse because of the fact that this is an immense capital project which will stretch far beyond the four to five years phase 1 will take to complete. The Government has committed €119 million to phase 1 but I envisage subsequent Governments, irrespective of their political make-up, to continue the construction of a campus at Abbotstown until such a time as we have a world-class network of facilities. In other words, I liken this to a necklace where the first few pearls are being put in. I anticipate that the complete necklace will take several years and that future Governments will complete the necklace. The result will be a sports campus which will be the equivalent of anything to be seen in the world. Ireland will be in a proud position as a result which will allow it host the most elaborate and the biggest international sporting events. That is what I see in terms of the vision for Abbotstown.

Throughout the process there will be engagement with local authorities because they are central to the planning process. That is what we are involved with here. I could not possibly make a provision to exclude certain local authorities. The reality is that I do not know what population configurations will look like in the future, what shape demographics will take or what decisions will be made by future Governments as regards the boundaries of any local authority. I cannot make my mind up on those questions because I do not have the necessary information and neither has anybody else.

In the circumstances I believe people will understand why local authority members are being excluded. We are talking about a statutory authority where there is potential conflict of interest ab initio. I just cannot differentiate in the manner that Senator Ryan has suggested. Again, this is a major capital project to which local authorities are central. In other words, a central role exists because of the crucial decisions they make.