Govt could increase Casement Park funding – Taoiseach

The Taoiseach has indicated that the Government will be prepared to increase its share of funding to build the GAA’s new Casement Park stadium in west Belfast.

The Government has pledged to contribute £40m to the project, but the estimated cost has now soared from an initial £77m to more than £300m to have the venue built in time to host Euro 2028 games.

Simon Harris told BBC Northern Ireland’s Sunday Politics Show that the Irish Government “won’t be found wanting”

Asked if the Government would be prepared to increase its pledged funding, he replied: “In principle we are, but I think we have to take a little step back here.”

Mr Harris said he welcomed remarks by new Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn last Sunday that the stadium will be built “one way or another”, and said the question now is one of timing.

“I think it would be a huge missed opportunity. if we had a situation where the Euro 2028 was being hosted across these two islands, and that we couldn’t see games played in Northern Ireland,” he added.

“I’d really like to see that happen. I’d like to work constructively with Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer and with my colleagues across government, with the Northern Ireland Executive, the GAA and others to see how best to move forward.”

The planned stadium will be on the agenda when the Taoiseach meets Mr Starmer at the UK Prime Minister’s country residence Chequers on Wednesday.

“Certainly when I meet the British Prime Minister on Wednesday, I’d like to explore further what that means in terms of next steps,” Mr Harris said.

“What that means in terms of timelines, and potentially what that could mean in terms of quantum, in terms of meeting the cost of the project. The Irish government won’t be found wanting.”

Legacy will also be on the agenda at the Chequers meeting.

The Government has taken the UK to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge controversial legslisation introduced on 1 May to end all criminal and civil investigations into killings during the Troubles.

Britain’s Labour Party has pledged to repeal and replace the Legacy Act, which was opposed by all political parties and victims groups in Northern Ireland.

Asked if the Government would withdraw its inter-state case as “an act of good faith”, Mr Harris said he absolutely believes that Mr Starmer is sincere about his pledge to repeal the Act, but said the issue had to be taken “step by step.”

“We all know legacy is complex, we all know legacy is painful, that’s not a reason not to address it. And you must always keep hope for justice alive, you can never extinguish that hope, and you must always take a human rights approach to these issues,” he said.

“And indeed, any way forward has to be grounded in the Good Friday Agreement and the Stormont House talks so let’s take this step by step. We don’t want to be in a position where we have an inter-state case against the UK, let me be clear on that.

“I take Prime Minister Starmer at his word, but we do obviously need to see what are the next steps and then how we respond accordingly. “

The Taoiseach again said he is very hopeful that British-Irish relations will be “re-set”, saying Mr Starmer had Mr Benn were speaking “the language of partnership”.

“That is where we need to get back to,” the Fine Gael leader said.

“We have now an opportunity with an Executive in place and with two willing governments in Ireland and in the UK, to try and now to make progress on any number of issues.”

The Taoiseach also again insisted that he has no plans to call an early general election and the coalition government will go its full-term.

He said he was not tempted to go to the polls early because Sinn Féin’s polling numbers are down.

“I have a bit of an old fashioned view for a young politician in terms of politics. I believe if you come to work, you work hard and you deliver for people then when you have an election, they might vote for you,” he said.

“I’m less than 100 days as Taoiseach of Ireland and I intend to show the people of this country that every single day when I come to work with my colleagues across the three parties, we deliver for them.

“I don’t naturally buy in to this theory that a little bit of time will make Sinn Féin resolve the various challenges that it now has with the Irish electorate. But I do believe that a little bit more time can help me show the Irish people what the next five years could look like were I their Taoiseach.”