UEFA's Director of Communications has said that UEFA expects clarity on exactly which stadia are planned to be used in the Irish-Scottish joint bid for the Euro 2008 soccer tournament.
Mike Lee, who will be part of the UEFA delegation inspecting facilities in Ireland next week, confirmed that they expect to view the Abbotstown site, as well as Croke Park.
He accepted that the European soccer governing body does not expect stadia to be finished by the time they make their decision on which countries will host the tournament.
Ahern denies tension with PDsThis comes as the Taoiseach denied that there is tension between him and his PD coalition partners over the building of a national stadium. Bertie Ahern has also insisted that he is still committed to the project.
Speaking to journalists in Dublin today, Mr Ahern said the Government would have to work through the issue. He said if the issue was not dealt with at tomorrow morning's cabinet meeting, it would be discussed over the next few days.
A report into the building of a new stadium is due to come before Cabinet this week.
Asked if it was inappropriate to consider building a stadium at a time of cutbacks in other areas, Mr Ahern said that the stadium was for the long term and that Croke Park would not have been built 100 years ago if that attitude had been taken.
He added that when he first gave money to the GAA for the Croke Park redevelopment in 1992 it was seen as his greatest mistake. The Taoiseach said he was glad to see that people now agreed with him.
The Tánaiste said she will be discussing the National Stadium issue with Mr Ahern before the Cabinet meeting.
Mary Harney said it was now a priority issue for the Government in a changed economic situation.
Labour Party TD Pat Rabbitte said that the credibility of the Progressive Democrats is at stake if the Government proceeds with the stadium plans.
Mr Rabbitte said that the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, will have to answer why the proposed stadium would get the blessing of the PDs now, although they had described it as a wasteful, grandiose folly before the General Election.
Call to redirect funding to cancer careMeanwhile, a leading cancer care campaigner in the southeast of the country has called on the Government to redirect funding from Stadium Ireland into radiotherapy services.
Jane Bailey, a member of the South East Cancer Foundation, said the money for radiotherapy services across the country had to be allocated immediately if the Government was to meet its commitments given in the Programme for Government.
She said the Government must end the situation where cancer patients were caught between the politics of funding and lack of prioity.
