A compromise formula to satisfy both the Progressive Democrats and the Gaelic Athletic Association over the £60 million Croke Park grant is being considered by the Taoiseach.
To copper-fasten their ties to the national stadium in Abbotstown, a legal deal must be agreed between the Government and the GAA, the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union.
During these negotiations, which will be conducted by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Dr McDaid, and are months away from conclusion, the three bodies will be formally asked to offer access to all codes to their grounds.
The GAA will be offered £15 million in July to help prepare Croke Park for the Special Olympics in 2003.
The remaining £45 million will be left conditional on its accepting the access agreement, The Irish Times understands.
Facing Opposition criticism, Mr Ahern told the Dail the Government would encourage the GAA but it could not force it: "In the next few years, I hope we will see the full development of Croke Park. "As the GAA and its advisers and technical experts have stated, Croke Park will not, when it is fully developed, be able to host soccer, Gaelic and rugby matches. That is not even a likely dream, not to mention an eventual possibility. "Senior officials of the GAA have made it absolutely clear to the Government that the ground will not be able to host those matches," he told the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Michael Noonan.
Despite his efforts to avoid formally tying the badly needed funding to access, the Progressive Democrats deliberately avoided opportunities to raise the temperature in their relationship with Fianna Fail.
"This can be couched in many ways. We are not going to stand up and shout about it. But we are happy that the money will not be given to the GAA unless it is conditional," said a PD spokesperson.
Curiously, the PDs and the Taoiseach are talking about different issues. The PDs insist on focusing upon Croke Park, while Mr Ahern emphasises the need to open up GAA pitches around the country.
Mr Ahern is faced with a difficult balancing act. If he refuses to attach conditions, relations with the PDs could suffer. If he does, the GAA could threaten to back out of its limited involvement in Abbotstown.
Tempers in the GAA are already rising. A former president of the association, Mr John Dowling, said yesterday members should not allow public or media opinion to sway them on the issue.
Another opponent of open access, Kerry county board chairman Mr Sean Walsh, said the GAA would not "accept a gun put to the head".
