Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if, in view of the €191 million State funding that has been or will be provided for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, he will ensure that the stadium retains the name of Lansdowne Road and is not sold as corporate sponsorship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25650/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, in January 2004, the Government agreed to provide funding of €191 m towards the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road Stadium as a 50,000-capacity all-seater state-of-the-art facility. It has been agreed with the IRFU and FAI who are jointly leading the project that they are to provide the balance of the funding.

I am informed that the IRFU and FAI are providing their respective shares of the funding through utilising a number of funding strategies and these include an initiative to evaluate and ultimately market the naming rights for the new stadium. The initiative regarding the naming rights is a matter for the sports organisations concerned which are independent, autonomous bodies responsible for the promotion and development of their sports at all levels throughout the country.