The Taoiseach has insisted that he is committed to redeveloping Lansdowne Road, despite believing it to be the wrong option for a national stadium.
Clarifying comments he made at the weekend, he said he still considered Abbotstown to have been the better option, with fewer potential planning problems, "and I'll never change that view". But he accepted he had "lost" this argument, and he now looked forward to visiting the new 50,000-seater Lansdowne Road. "I hope I'm not waiting 10 years," he added.
Mr Ahern was responding to criticisms from the Opposition, which rounded on him yesterday for saying he would have doubts about Lansdowne's redevelopment "until the day it opens, because I just think it is in a very built-up area".
Former Labour leader Ruairí Quinn accused him of "bestowing the kiss of death" on the project. "An Taoiseach has scuppered Eircom Park; he's scuppered Abbotstown; now he wants to scupper Lansdowne Road too."
Fine Gael spokesman on sport Jimmy Deenihan said he was being "irrational and unhelpful", and was still "pining after the Bertie Bowl" vetoed by the PDs.
But Mr Ahern said he had more experience of the planning process than his critics, having just attended the reopening of Croke Park's Hill 16 after spending "13 years of my life" dealing with its redevelopment. "The point I was making [ on Sunday] is that these things are difficult. Obviously, I wish the process at Lansdowne Road a speedier route." The Taoiseach said he had been attending soccer and rugby matches at Lansdowne for years "and I've never seen Ruairí Quinn at any of them".
Mr Quinn said the apparently casual nature of Mr Ahern's weekend remarks disguised his intent to halt the project altogether, and he added: "The redevelopment of Lansdowne is the best solution to our current sporting and cultural needs. As long as it is handled correctly and the legitimate concerns of the local community are fully addressed, then the entire development could be concluded by the end of this decade."
Mr Deenihan said the Taoiseach's "unhelpful" comments insulted both the FAI and the IRFU and sounded a negative note after the GAA's historic decision to open the possibility of soccer and rugby at Croke Park.
He also claimed that the Taoiseach's lack of faith in the Lansdowne project raised issues about his use of public money. "It says little for the Taoiseach's attitude towards responsible public spending if he can stand over Government funding of €190 million for a project in which he claims he does not have confidence."
The Fine Gael TD added: "The Taoiseach should focus now on looking forward to the prospect of a world class stadium on each side of the Liffey rather than looking back wistfully at his ill-fated vanity project."
A Sinn Féin councillor for Dublin South East, Daithì Doolan, said the Taoiseach's comments were an example of "Bertie doing what Bertie does best - talking out of both sides of his mouth and clarifying nothing."
