Government to take over Tallaght Stadium
SHAMROCK ROVERS hopes of finishing building work on their proposed stadium in Tallaght suffered another setback last night after the Dail Public Accounts Committee and Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism called for property developers Mulden International to give up the site's lease.
Also revealed was that the Department wants South Dublin County Council to complete the building work on the 6,000 capacity stadium.
That would put the Government and SDCC on a collision course with Rovers, who along with investor Conor Clarkson, have sought a judicial review of the County Council's decision to reject a new application for planning permission.
Since planning permission was first granted in January 1998, Government grants of almost ?2.4 million have been awarded though the stadium remains unfinished with at least a further six months work to be done before it is safe for public use.
The Department's secretary general, Phil Furlong, said that it would be in the interests of all parties for Mulden International to give up the lease and allow SDCC to take control of finishing the project.
Furlong added that extra funds would be made available to SDCC if it were to complete the stadium.
John Curran TD, a member of the PAC, commented: "I know that there could be a judicial review and I fear that, as reviews can, it could drag on and leave the ground idle again. That is the worst case scenario so I hope that Mulden give up the lease."
Shamrock Rovers chairman Tony Maguire said: "It is imperative that we get Shamrock Rovers into a new home for the start of the 2006 season because the club cannot continue indefinitely in the current circumstances."
