The Football Association of Ireland is to proceed with plans for its own stadium at Eircom Park, in defiance of the Government's expressed wish that it should stage the Republic of Ireland's home games at a new national stadium, to be completed by 2005 at Abbotstown in north-west Dublin.
While Opposition parties last night expressed doubts about the viability of the new stadium, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in today's Irish Times says that, in the context of overall infrastructure spending, the projected investment is modest. He says that 5p in every £10 of infrastructural investment will build and equip "this world-class facility", which is potentially "a huge part of a national vision".
Shortly after Mr Ahern announced that the Government was to build a campus for sporting excellence, with the stadium as its centrepiece, the FAI said it would not be deflected from building its new £65 million headquarters.
"Given that we may have two new stadiums about to come on stream, some may question the State's planning for sport, but, from our point of view, Eircom Park is still a viable project which will be built by 2002," said FAI chief executive Mr Bernard O'Byrne.
Other sporting organisations were more favourable to the concept of a national stadium, capable of accommodating 80,000 spectators and seen as an important asset in attracting major sporting events.
The Irish Rugby Football Union, faced with the prospect of having to redevelop Lansdowne Road or build a new stadium to meet the demands of international games, is almost certain to use the new venue, to be known as Stadium Ireland.
The Athletics Association of Ireland welcomed the proposed ancillary facilities at Sports Campus Ireland as much as the stadium itself. It will continue to use the Morton Stadium in Santry for its promotions but said the building of a national stadium opened up the prospect of international events being staged in Dublin.
The campus, to be built on 230 acres of State-owned lands, will also house a national indoor arena capable of accommodating 15,000 spectators. It could also be used for projects outside sport.
The project's cost is put at £281 million, but a donation of £50 million by the Limerick businessman, Mr J.P. McManus, will reduce the cost to the State to £231 million. A trust, chaired by Mr Derek Keogh, will hold the campus and stadium as assets of the State.