A new body to oversee the planning and development of a sports campus at Abbotstown was launched today by the Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue.
The National Sports Campus Development Authority (NSCDA)will replace Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Company Ltd CSID) from January 1st. CSID had been beset by problems since its inception in 2000.
The NSCDA will have the powers of a statutory body and will oversee the planning and development of a sports campus at Abbotstown and is under the chairmanship of former Enterprise Ireland ceo, Dan Flinter.
Making the announcement Minister O'Donoghue said: "This new statutory authority and the function and responsibility they will carry out underlines this Government's commitment to bring our sporting infrastructure into line with best international standards.
"The Sports Campus can be seen as a real and tangible symbol of Ireland's determination to compete on the international stage by ensuring that our sports men and women have at their disposal cutting edge sporting facilities," said Mr O'Donoghue.
It had been envisgaed that CSID would oversee the building of the National Aquatic Centre, the so called 'Bertie Bowl' sports stadium and a sports campus at Abbottstown.
However, the progressive Democrats blocked the plans for a sports stadium saying it was too costly.
Then, in 2002, CSID ceo and chairman Paddy Teahon had to step down over a scandal involving the awarding of contracts to build and manage the National Aquatic Centre.
The 30-year contract for the National Aquatic Centre was awarded to a shelf company, Waterworld UK, which became Dublin Waterworld when it ran the centre.
The awarding of the contract to Waterworld UK was crtiisiced heavily in 2002 by the Comptroller & Auditor General John Purcell. Mr Purcell said the contact for running the the Centre should have awarded when construction of the pool was completed.
Dublin Waterworld was ordered by the Supreme Court to hand back control of the Nationa Aquatic Centre to CSID last November.
It had run the centre since April 2003 but had been dogged by a series of controversies.
Leaks had been a constant issue, culminating in an undercover documentary revealing the extent of the problem. One report identified 126 cracks in the structure.
The Health and Safety Authority also investigated the condition of the National Aquatic Centre following the revelations on structural damage. It looked into how chemicals and acids are stored in the centre.
In January 2005, part of the roof was blown off in a storm, and the centre had to close for five months so that repairs could be carried out.