Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 12: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the immediate and long-term timetable for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road; if a planning application for the stadium's redevelopment has been lodged; if he anticipates any difficulties with the planning process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34902/05]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position regarding the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road. [34808/05]

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the objections of local residents to the proposed new Lansdowne Road stadium; if these concerns have been taken into account in the planning for the new stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34903/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 20 and 25 together.

I refer the Deputies to my reply to the priority question on this matter earlier today. I have already advised the House that Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company is currently putting together an application for planning permission which it expects to have ready for lodgement with the planning authority by end-2006. It is not realistically possible to estimate with certainty the length of time that will be required to complete the planning process. Working on the assumption that there is no untoward delay, construction work should commence in early 2007. Construction is scheduled to take 29 months and on that basis the end of 2009 could see completion of the redeveloped stadium.

In my earlier reply, I also pointed out that the new design has been created in consultation with the different stakeholder groups, including the local residents. As a result, in order to minimise the impact on those living close to the new structure, the design at the north end has been confined to a single level while there are four levels on the east, west and south sides. The revised design is an innovative solution which I hope will be perceived by local residents as going a long way to address their concerns.