I want to welcome you all to the Department today for an update on developments at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Blanchardstown, D15.
I want to introduce my former Dáil colleague and former minister for agriculture, Joe Walsh, now Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, and the chief executive of Horse Sport Ireland Damien McDonald.
Also with me at this table are the Chairman of the Sports Campus Development Authority Sean Benton, and the chief executive Barry O’Brien.
I also want to welcome GAA director general Paraic Duffy, IRFU President Billy Glynn, FAI Treasurer Michael Cody, and the new chief executive of the Irish Hockey Association Michael Heskin.
There has been a lot of progress at the National Sports Campus since its foundation, including the National Aquatic Centre, Institute of Sport and the FAI Headquarters. There are a lot more ‘facts on the ground’ than most people think. But there have also been a lot of false starts.
When we last met here in March, I announced a revised plan for the Sports Campus which had been approved by Government, based on a new Partnership approach between Government and sporting bodies. I am pleased to tell you that approach is working and we have good news for you today.
I’m very pleased to confirm today that Horse Sport Ireland and Pentathlon Ireland will develop a centre of excellence for high performance athletes in equestrian sports and the modern pentathlon. The Campus Authority has reached agreement with Horse Sport Ireland, and Pentathlon Ireland, to develop equestrian and other pentathlete training facilities at the site.
The project will cost around €600,000. The cost will be met in the initial period by the Campus Development Authority, which is putting a business plan in place to sustain the facility. The aim is to recoup more than 50% of the capital investment within ten years, and an annual rent will also be charged.
I can confirm today that procurement and installation works are already underway and we expect the whole project will be completed in the first quarter of 2013, from when they will be available to our pentathletes as they prepare for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and intervening competitions.
The agreed plan between the Campus Authority and Horse Sport Ireland will develop a high performance equestrian training arena, inside the walled garden area of Abbotstown House.
This arena will be available to all 22 organisations affiliated to Horse Sport Ireland, the pentathletes, and high performance equestrian training.
The farm outhouse next to the arena will also be developed for the Pentathlon disciplines of Fencing and Pistol Shooting.
A Licence Agreement has already been signed between the Campus Authority and Horse Sport Ireland on behalf of its affiliates, including Pentathlon Ireland.
Ireland’s pentathletes Natalya Coyle and Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe played a prominent role in the London Olympics. The hope is that they will benefit from these new facilities, along with many future athletes.
But it does not stop there.
I can confirm that the Campus Authority has signed lease agreements with the FAI, GAA, IRFU and the Irish Hockey Association. This became possible after the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, transferred the lands to the Campus Authority during the summer. I want to thank Minister Coveney for helping to make this happen.
The various field sports are now in a position to develop their own training facilities on the site. The GAA is well advanced with its plans in this regard. The FAI has already secured a grant of $500,000 from UEFA towards its part of the project.
I hope that the decision by Horse Sport Ireland and Pentathlon Ireland will encourage many other sporting bodies to develop their own facilities on the site. We have land and we want to hear from them.
Significant site clearance and infrastructure works will start at the Campus site in the near future. This includes work on the new internal access road to open up the site. And it includes preparatory work for the multi-sport all-weather pitches, and the sports pavilion, which will be open to all national governing bodies and also local communities under the management of the sports campus.
Conversion work on the former Marine Institute building is also well advanced. This building is being redesigned as a new Irish Sport HQ, and could be completed this year, or early in spring 2013. The building will then be fitted out, and we expect the first of the 18 national governing bodies to be in place in March or April.
Shortly after I came into office I promised that we would develop the Campus on a gradual basis, within available resources. The Government and I remain committed to developing a national training centre at the site. In particular, I want to build on the success that we saw at the Olympic and Paralympic games in London last summer.
In spite of the current economic problems, the Sports Campus project shows what can be achieved when you work on a realistic scale, within realistic budgets. The Bertie Bowl is long gone, but the National Sports Campus marches on.
We hope to see you again next year, on campus, when Sports HQ and the new equestrian and pentathlon facilities open their doors for the first time.