No ‘special case’ to fund one sport, Little-Pengelly tells Assembly

No “special case” should be created to fund one particular organisation or sport in Northern Ireland, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has said.

The DUP minister was speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly as she was challenged over whether she would support the rebuilding of GAA stadium Casement Park in west Belfast.

The UK Government has indicated that this week’s Spending Review will be the juncture when it confirms whether or not it will make a financial contribution to help deliver the stalled plans to redevelop the derelict Gaelic games venue.

Plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium remain mired in uncertainty because of a major funding gap of around £150 million.

Speaking during ministerial question time at Stormont, opposition leader Matthew O’Toole said it was 12 years since a match was last played at Casement.

He said: “Gaels and GAA fans throughout Ulster and Ireland now have a real expectation that on Wednesday additional funding to rebuild Casement Park will be allocated.

“Can I ask whether you support additional funding, more importantly, if additional funding is forthcoming from the UK Government will you work to facilitate extra funding and will you react positively to the rebuilding of Casement Park?”

Ms Little-Pengelly said the Casement project had not progressed previously “not because of a lack of political will but because of a lengthy process in terms of planning challenges and logistical issues which were outside the control of the Northern Ireland Executive”.

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.

Ms Little-Pengelly added: “At the time the allocation was made to rugby, to football and to the GAA that was done in a fair and equitable way which recognises the relative strength of each of those organisations.

“It is important as we move forward that we do so on a fair and equitable basis as sport right throughout Northern Ireland and many different areas are crying out for that support and that funding to enable them to reach their full potential.

“We want that to be inclusive, but in that inclusivity it must be fair and equitable, it cannot just be a special case for one particular organisation or sport.”

Mr O’Toole said the deputy First Minister had not answered his question.

He said: “Casement Park has lain idle for 12 years. If I were a unionist I would think the best possible way of demonstrating to nationalists that Northern Ireland is working is building a world class GAA stadium in the middle of west Belfast.

“Do you support it being built? Will you work in the Executive to get it built, including with additional funding if necessary?”

Ms Little-Pengelly said the Executive stood by its original commitment of £62.5 million for the GAA stadium.

She added: “Since that, for reasons outside the control of the Executive or any political party, the Casement project did not proceed at the time it was anticipated to do so.

“That project is now significantly bigger than the original application.

“There are many, many pressures right across government, that includes those that are sitting in pain on waiting lists, that includes children who need special educational needs assessments, that includes really vital things.

“In all things we have to look at moving forward to meet those needs. Of course we want our sporting stadia and facilities to be fit for purpose and indeed to make sure any allocation of funding is done in a fair and equitable way.”

Last 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.

As well as the Stormont contribution of £62.5 million, the Irish Government has offered roughly £42 million and 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.