The evaluation of 23 submissions on the building of a new national stadium will take about a month, according to Sports Minister John O'Donoghue.
Mr O'Donoghue has told the Dail that, while one firm was from Northern Ireland, the majority were Irish, four were from the UK, and one from Germany and France.
The minister said that it would take up to a month to evaluate the submissions.
This process would be carried out by the department in conjunction with the Attorney General, the Office of Public Works, Campus Stadium Ireland and the National Treasury Management Agency.
But the minister said the project was still a long way off and that many other issues had to be resolved. He also added that the status of the pledge of E80m made by JP McManus was unknown.