Tuesday 10th November 2015
- Government confirms commitment to funding redevelopment of Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
- Funding discussed in Dáil following reports of review by the European Commission.
The redevelopment of Pairc Ui Chaoimh is an important project both for Cork and our country. I was delighted that the Minister explicitly recognised this and confirmed that he and his officials would do everything to deal with European queries as quickly as possible.
It is important to point out the Minister stated that the business case for the redevelopment is in order. This is significant as it was the initial hurdle that had to be cleared before the Government could confirm its intention to give €30 million towards this project. Now we need to make sure that we convey to the European Commission that the redevelopment is in compliance with State aid rules.
The last thing we want is for the redevelopment of Pairc Ui Chaoimh to be delayed unnecessarily. But thankfully Minister Donohoe confirmed that this would receive the fullest possible attention. The Minister and the Department will be working closely with Cork County Board and its representatives to make sure that any questions from Europe will be dealt with in a speedy manner.
Pairc Ui Chaoimh is just one of a number of large projects in Cork being funded by this Government. When we came to office we started and completed the flyovers Bandon Road and Sarsfield Road flyovers. Another €10 million has been committed to the event centre at the historic Beamish & Crawford site. In the recent capital plan the Dunkettle interchange and N28 projects were included. This commitment to Cork is vital for the development of our city and county and I am delighted that the Minister recognises the importance and significance of the redevelopment of Pairc Ui Chaoimh.