Government ‘cannot commit’ to Casement funding without more details on costs

The UK Government cannot corroborate whether it volition supply backing to redevelop Casement Park until it knows the costs and sees revised proposals for the stadium, Hilary Benn has said.

The Northern Ireland Secretary was commenting aft the GAA expressed anticipation that a little spec redevelopment task tin beryllium delivered without an excessive drain connected the nationalist purse.

GAA president Jarlath Burns said the organisation was inactive readying for a venue with a capableness successful excess of 30,000 but helium said the fit-out would beryllium much “modest and basic” than what was envisaged erstwhile the stadium was earmarked arsenic a big venue for the Euro 2028 shot tournament.

It is understood the GAA has present reverted to the program it had successful spot for Casement anterior to it being selected arsenic a Euros venue.

Mr Burns led a GAA delegation successful a gathering with Stormont’s Communities Minister Gordon Lyons successful Belfast to sermon the stalled task connected Thursday.

In September, the UK Government torpedoed hopes that the presently derelict westbound Belfast venue would big games successful Euro 2028 erstwhile it announced that it would not span a backing spread to present the redevelopment successful time.

It said the hazard to the nationalist purse of missing the tourney deadline was excessively high.

The Government besides expressed concerns astir however the outgo of the task had perchance risen to much than £400 million.

The Stormont Executive had committed to redevelop Casement Park successful 2011 arsenic portion of a stadium strategy that delivered revamps for football’s Windsor Park and the rugby crushed astatine Ravenhill.

While the 2 different Belfast-based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement past was delayed due to the fact that of ineligible challenges by section residents.

Then, the Stormont Executive committed £62.5 cardinal to the Casement project.

The GAA has pledged to lend £15 million.

The Irish Government has offered astir £42 cardinal towards the task and said this backing remains successful spot adjacent without the stadium being built for the Euros.

After the UK Government pulled the plug connected Casement arsenic a Euros venue, Mr Lyons insisted the Executive inactive remained committed to redeveloping the crushed for the needs of the GAA.

On Thursday, Mr Benn was pressed implicit whether the Government was inactive prepared to apical up the backing cookware for Casement Park adjacent though it was nary longer going to beryllium a Euros venue.

We are inactive looking astatine a capableness of implicit 30,000, we tin inactive bash that with a much basal and humble fit-out

GAA president Jarlath Burns

On a sojourn to Wrightbus successful Ballymena, the Northern Ireland Secretary told reporters helium was not successful a presumption to corroborate whether other backing volition beryllium forthcoming from the Treasury.

“I invited the information that, according to reports, Jarlath Burns has said that there’s going to beryllium a revised connection for Casement Park,” helium said.

“The Prime Minister said immoderate clip agone we request to spot an alternate proposition, and I look guardant to proceeding from the Executive pursuing those discussions immoderate much astir that proposition, including what the outgo is, due to the fact that I’m not successful a presumption to springiness a committedness today.

“We don’t cognize what the outgo is. We don’t cognize what the spread is.

“But this has been a longstanding committedness of the Executive to guarantee that Casement Park gets built.

“But we request to instrumentality it a signifier astatine a time, and I look guardant to proceeding much astir what this revised stadium looks like.”

Mr Benn added: “I would similar to cognize what the outgo of this revised proposition is, and I look guardant to proceeding from the Executive and from the GAA arsenic to precisely what it is.

“But, astatine the moment, it appears to beryllium a very, precise ample gap.”

Following Thursday’s meeting, Mr Burns said helium was assured the task was a “priority” for Mr Lyons.

However, the GAA president said determination was inactive nary timeline for delivering the caller stadium.

He said Mr Lyons would person to bring the GAA’s program to the wider Stormont Executive for consideration.

“We person had a relook astatine the benignant of stadium that is going to beryllium built based connected the information that we’re not getting the Euros immoderate more,” said Mr Burns.

“He (Mr Lyons) took each of that connected board.

“It’s a importantly smaller outgo due to the fact that we’ve taken a batch of the fit-out distant from it to effort and marque it arsenic tiny a outgo to the nationalist purse arsenic imaginable due to the fact that we are alert that determination are a batch of demands connected the nationalist purse astatine the moment, and we are liable people, and we privation to marque definite that erstwhile Casement Park is built that it volition beryllium built decently to information standards, but not to excessively overmuch of a luxurious modular that it is going to instrumentality wealth distant from different important projects.”

He added: “We are inactive looking astatine a capableness of implicit 30,000, we tin inactive bash that with a much basal and humble fit-out, due to the fact that we deliberation that it is precise important that though we get our stadium, which is portion of evidently the stadium strategy and the infrastructure strategy and the Programme for Government priorities, that we bash truthful successful a liable way.

“We person managed to clasp the fig of radical who volition acceptable into it portion having it to a little specification.”

Mr Burns said helium did not privation to marque nationalist the latest costing fig for the rebuild arsenic it was commercially delicate up of a tender process.

He besides said helium wanted to sermon the program face-to-face with the Northern Ireland Secretary to find the Government’s presumption successful respect to funding.

“I stay assured successful Hilary Benn and what helium tin nutrient for us,” Mr Burns added.

The GAA president besides indicated his organisation would not beryllium committing further funds connected apical of the £15 cardinal it has already pledged.

Asked erstwhile helium felt Casement could beryllium yet delivered, Mr Burns said: “We don’t person a clip frame, to beryllium honest, that’s successful the hands of others, due to the fact that we are waiting connected the backing spread to beryllium closed.

“We are hopeful that that tin hap soon.

“That’s truly successful the hands of the Executive now, and evidently successful the hands of the British Government and the Treasury, to spot what they are going to travel up with to adjacent that backing gap.”