Irish funding for the redevelopment of Casement Park should not be “an issue of contention”, Micheál Martin has insisted.
A multimillion-euro funding package for Northern Ireland projects was announced on Tuesday by the Coalition leaders.
This includes €50 million for the redevelopment of the GAA stadium in west Belfast, which has been earmarked to host matches in the Euro 2028 soccer tournament.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, while welcoming the support for “genuine cross-border projects”, said it was not the Dublin government’s role to finance public services and infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
The Tánaiste said that funding the cross-border initiatives was about having “practical connectivity” and developments that would be of the “mutual benefit” to people living on the island of Ireland.
“We all collectively want to host the Euros 2028,” he told RTÉ Radio.
“It’s a shared objective between the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, in terms of what would be a wonderful tournament and it would be a terrible shame if Belfast was not in a position to host matches in that tournament.
“In my discussions with (Northern Ireland Secretary) Chris Heaton-Harris, I think we always made it clear that we were there to support Casement Park. I don’t see that it should be an issue of contention.”
Asked about what the overall cost for Casement Park could be, Mr Martin said: “It’s never wise to speculate on the price of any project before it goes to tender because very often the speculated cost could become the floor price.”
Asked whether he thought the funding from UK Government was secure, he said: “My sense was that it was secure, that it was an important part of the broader picture, if you like, increasing and improving sports infrastructure across Northern Ireland.
“I don’t want to speak for Chris on this, but in my conversations, he’s an avid sports fan himself having been the soccer referee. So I think he has a broad view in terms of improving sports facilities more generally and that would include Casement.”
