, who are pencilled in to operate the events centre, remain fully committed to the project.
Mr Coveney said government officials were trying to find agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and Cork City Council on the best way legally to deal with the issue of State funding for the project.“We have had to get legal advice to reassure us we can take a different approach in a way that’s consistent with the original tendering process.
“I would appeal to people here not to turn this into a political football that becomes hugely negative and then, because of that negative cycle, we make finalising the arrangements for this project even more difficult. “What we need now are some cool heads for the next couple of weeks to try and get the legals of this project clarified, once and for all, so we can move ahead with it,” said Mr Coveney. He said the easy thing upon encountering blockages and delays would be to abandon the project but he was standing by it.