Former GAA president Sean Kelly has defended the €30M of public funding allocated for the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Choaimh.
The Kerryman, an MEP for the South, spoke to Newstalk's Breakfast this morning and was responding to a front-page story in today's Irish Independent which states that government officials have withheld funds promised to the GAA for rebuilding the Cork stadium.
The article says the Cork County Board's cost-benefit analysis for the lifetime of the stadium is not up to scratch in the eyes of the the Department of Public Expenditure, and that their projection for attendances at non-sporting events at the grounds were "overly optimistic".
But Kelly told Breakfast this morning that the redevelopment investment was justified, despite the GAA already having Semple Stadium, Thurles (53,000), the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick (50,000), and Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney (43,000) at their disposal in Munster, which has a population of 1.2M.
Listen to Sean Kelly on Breakfast here:
"If it was another venue I'd say yes," said Kelly when it was put to him that the investment was unjustified, "but because of the location of Cork, because it's Ireland's second city and because of its capacity to both adequately cater for Cork teams in football and hurling - and also to be able get many other neutral games and of course because of the Rugby World Cup coming to Ireland ... you have to have the infrastructure, you have to have the accommodation, you have to have the capacity."
He continued: "Because Cork is Ireland's second city, a proper stadium of that size is justified."
Kelly also said that the points made by the Department are "overly finicky" and "all the questions raised can be answered". He added that the criticism "doesn't reflect that well on the Department".
The Cork County Board have since issued a statement addressing the Irish Independent's article.
Statement Issued by Cork http://t.co/m3DKXrb5Oj Páirc Uí Chaoimh Project http://t.co/q5Cv5zIfU6
— Cork GAA (@OfficialCorkGAA) April 8, 2015
"Cork County Board wishes to clarify a number of issues arising from a story on the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh published in today’s Irish Independent," it stated.
"No State monies have been withheld from the project and no drawdown of monies has been requested by Cork County Board.
"An initial Cost Benefit Analysis draft on the project was submitted in December 2014 and is the subject of ongoing dialogue with the relevant officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
"It is entirely appropriate and is the norm that any case being made for the expenditure of public monies would be subject to rigorous examination. Cork County Board is fully engaged with the Department in that process. The Board is confident that the basis of the business case for the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh is correct and will be pleased to provide any further information or clarification requested by the Department as part of the process now underway."
So what do you think?
Is Sean Kelly right in his assessment, or is a 45,000-capacity stadium too big for Cork?
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