A plan for the development of a sports campus at Abbotstown, which was due to be brought to Cabinet in March, will be brought to Government shortly, according to Minister for Sports John O'Donoghue.
Mr O'Donoghue said he had received the development control plan from Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Ltd for phase one of a sports campus. It includes the development of pitches and ancillary accommodation mainly for the three major field sports - rugby, soccer and Gaelic games.
In addition, there will be an indoor sports centre and all-weather floodlit synthetic pitches. It is expected to take five years and cost €120 million.
Labour's sports spokesman Jack Wall said he was perplexed at the delay. He said the proposal had been on the legislative list for the past two years and he warned: "If we do not have this centre of excellence, we will not develop into a nation that can make an impact at Olympic level".
He hoped that the centre would cover a wide range of sport that would be reflected in better performances at Olympic level in future.
Mr O'Donoghue said he envisaged a "necklace of centres at Abbotstown so that in years to come there will be the type of facility Deputy Wall envisages". This would be of "tremendous benefit to the country generally. It would be very attractive in terms of inward investment".
Mr Wall said that as well as the facilities there was a need for expertise to provide the necessary training. Mr O'Donoghue said he planned to make expertise available but he was greatly concerned at the decreasing levels of volunteerism.
"Without being too philosophical, I note it is true that individualism can often triumph over community. That is always a tragedy."
Fine Gael's spokesman Jimmy Deenihan asked about the future of the national coaching and training centre in Limerick. "Surely there would be duplication," he said.
The Minister did not envisage any change of location for the centre in Limerick. "Its present location is safe for the foreseeable future. It makes a very important contribution to sport," he said.
