Four NGBs back Ireland sports campus plan

Four major Irish national governing bodies for sport have backed government plans to develop a National Sports Campus in the Dublin suburb of Blanchardstown.

Irish transport, tourism and sport minister Leo Varadkar has revealed that the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Irish Rugby Football Union have signed up to the scheme.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and the Irish Hockey Association are also backing the National Sports Campus vision, which will comprise facilities for each of the four sports.

Infrastructure and technical services are due to be installed by the end of the year, while all-weather field sports facilities will be built over the next two years and will be made available to the public.

The four national governing bodies have all signed terms to accept and develop areas within the campus boundary that have been allocated to them.

Varadkar said: "For its part, the government has allocated funding to develop the vital access route and provide serviced infrastructure this year.

"The government has also provided a limited and equal financial incentive of matching funding for each body to commence development as soon as possible."

Details: www.transport.ie

Image: The GAA is one of the four bodies to sign up to the National Sports Campus plan – Conor Lawless