Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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225. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when work will begin, and be completed, on the velodrome at Sports Ireland Campus; if capital funding is currently provided for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22454/25]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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226. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when work will begin, and be completed, on a cricket crease facility at Sports Ireland Campus; if capital funding is currently provided for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22455/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 226 together.

The National Development Plan 2021-2030 reiterated the Government’s commitment to the continued development of the National Sports Campus. In addition, Government approved the Campus Masterplan in November 2022 and reaffirmed its commitment to the phased delivery of the National Sports Campus. The Masterplan provides a framework for the further development of the campus over the next 15 to 20 years and identifies the next key high-level projects for development.

The development of a National Velodrome and Badminton Centre is the next largescale development to be progressed under the Campus Masterplan. It will comprise of a 250 metre cycling track and up to 12 badminton courts in the in-track area, in addition to spectator seating and ancillary facilities. The Centre will provide world-class track cycling facilities for our athletes who currently have to travel abroad for both training and competition, as well as providing the sport of badminton with integrated training, gym and medical facilities. Planning permission for this project was awarded by Fingal County Council in January 2023.

On 1 August 2024, Ministerial approval was announced for the project to proceed to tender. This tender process is underway and an outcome is expected in the coming months. Once the tender process is complete, Sport Ireland will prepare a final business case including costings for ministerial approval. Subject to my consideration of this business case, I hope to confirm the overall budget allocation for the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre later this year and that construction will begin before end-2025 with a likely completion date of mid-2027.

The proposed National Cricket Centre will also be delivered under the Campus Masterplan and will provide a permanent home for international cricket in Ireland that meets International Cricket Council requirements and standards. The facility is expected to include a high performance centre, an arena for holding major games with associated media and spectator facilities and headquarter offices for Cricket Ireland. The facilities will be focussed on elite teams and high performance but will also be accessible for use by teams and players at a range of levels, including youth and local teams. The facility will play an important role in Cricket Ireland's plans to deliver on its co-hosting responsibilities with England, Wales and Scotland for the 2030 T20 World Cup.

The project will be delivered on a phased basis. Phase 1, involving pre-tender planning and design, has now commenced and the planning application was lodged by Sport Ireland on 25 April 2025. It is expected that planning and design will be completed later this year with the tender phase to follow. I hope to confirm the overall budget allocation for the National Cricket Centre following the completion the tender phase in early 2026 and the submission by Sport Ireland of the final business case at that time.