No UK Government decision on Casement funding until June, Lyons tells MLAs

No decision on potential UK Government funding for Casement Park will be confirmed until June, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has told MLAs.

Mr Lyons also said he would be meeting with Jarlath Burns in the next couple of weeks to see “what the latest position” of the GAA president is with regards to the redevelopment of the west Belfast stadium.

The Stormont Executive committed to redevelop Casement Park in 2011, as part of a strategy to revamp football’s Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill.

While the two other Belfast-based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement, which is currently derelict, was delayed because of legal challenges by local residents.

In September, the UK Government ended hopes that the west Belfast venue would host Euro 2028 games when it said it would not bridge a funding gap to deliver the redevelopment in time.

During ministerial question time on Monday, Mr Lyons was asked to update MLAs on a recent meeting he held with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn over Casement.

He said: “I met with the Secretary of State recently and I was asking him about any contribution that the UK Government might make.

“He said that any contribution, if any at all, is not known at this time and it would be June time before he would be in a position to confirm whether there was any additional funding.”

Mr Lyons said he “stuck by his commitment” of £62.5 million from the Stormont Executive for the redevelopment of Casement Park.

He added: “I have asked for a meeting with Jarlath Burns, the president of the GAA, to be able to update him on that meeting and see what the latest position of the GAA is.

“I believe that is taking place in the next couple of weeks.”

Speaking last week Mr Benn said any UK Government contribution to the rebuilding of the GAA stadium would not bridge the current funding gap for the project.

He said he would not make any funding promises while a Government review of spending is continuing.

The Stormont Executive committed £62.5 million in 2011 to the Casement project.

The Irish Government has offered roughly £42 million and said this funding remains in place even without the stadium being built for the Euros.

The GAA has pledged to contribute £15 million.

It has been reported that the cost of the project has fallen to £270 million since it was confirmed the ground would not host Euros matches, still leaving a funding shortfall of about £150 million.

The current planning permission for the redevelopment of Casement Park will expire next summer.

Mr Benn recently said that if work does not begin on the project before then, new planning permission would have to be sought and “we will have another two or three years of delay”.