Croke Park remains on course to stage soccer and rugby internationals in just over 12 months after a meeting this week between the GAA, FAI and IRFU.

"The plan is still that it will happen in 2007," said GAA president Seán Kelly. "We had a meeting with the other organisations about long-term planning and they are confident that planning permission (for Lansdowne Road) will be sorted out within 12 months although they may have to cut the capacity to 45,000."

The GAA decided at last April's annual congress that Croke Park could be used for soccer and rugby internationals while Lansdowne Road was being rebuilt.

The matter has come freshly into focus in the past week with the news that the north terrace at Lansdowne Road has had to be closed for safety reasons.

Expecting the planning issues to be resolved within 12 months might seem optimistic given the amount of time it took the GAA to pilot through the redevelopment of Croke Park, even though for financial reasons that project was staggered and the ground staged championship matches during the 11-plus years of construction work.

Lansdowne Road, however, will be closed during its building work but even so, the residents in the area could be said to carry greater firepower when it comes to testing the legality of the redevelopment plans than the communities around Croke Park did.

"They may have more firepower," said Kelly, "but they maybe also have more understanding of the project. Lansdowne Road is there already and the alternative to the development is to sell the property and do with it what's being done on the Jurys and Berkeley Court sites. That should focus the minds of residents."

The final deal on use of the GAA venue will be completed by the spring, according to the president.

Croke Park's stadium director Peter McKenna will be in charge of negotiating the fees for use of the ground although whatever the final figures, they will have to be ratified by the association's Central Council.

This confidence is despite suggestions by both the FAI and IRFU in the immediate aftermath of the congress decision that they would take Croke Park into account as an option but would also be investigating the possible use of grounds in Britain, such as Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Parkhead and Old Trafford.

"I'd say that was a natural reaction at the time," said Kelly. "People were saying that the GAA should charge them a massive sum for the use of Croke Park, but I think we'll be reasonable enough and sporting enough to be able to work out a deal of some sort. I believe there's a willingness on all sides to work it out."

Kelly believes the trigger for the use of Croke Park will be the granting of planning permission to Lansdowne Road and that this will take place in time for the spring internationals, both Six Nations and European Championship qualifiers, of 2007.

Meanwhile it has emerged that Central Council is likely before Christmas to endorse the official naming of areas in the Croke Park stadium. It is understood that the Canal End is to be named after Maurice Davin, the first president of the GAA and the media centre after Michael O'Hehir, the late broadcaster whose commentaries brought big matches into the homes of the whole country.

Kelly gave some indication of this during his speech to this year's congress. "In redeveloping Croke Park, we have, as promised, continued to honour the illustrious names associated with the Stadium. Thus the Croke, Cusack, Hogan and Nally names will continue in use as always.

"Coiste Bainistí have discussed ways in which other greats could be honoured as well - Michael O'Hehir, Frank Dineen and Maurice Davin are just some of the names mentioned.

"Personally, I would like to see the Canal End being named in honour of Maurice Davin and I have always wondered why our first uachtarán, one of the great big three, namely Cusack, Croke and Davin, has never been given national recognition. It is time to redress the imbalance, is it not?"