Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has confirmed he will meet GAA next week to discuss the development of Casement Park.
Addressing the Stormont Committee for Communities this morning, Mr Lyons confirmed £62.5 million funding for Casement Park remains in place and he will update the GAA on the situation when he meets them next Thursday.
Mr Lyons has previously been criticised for turning down an invite to the All-Ireland final and instead attending tennis at the Olympics Games in Paris.
Answering a question from Sinn Féin West Tyrone MLA Maolíosa McHugh, Mr Lyons said: “The original commitment that was made in terms of funding remains, but you will be aware of the vastly different situation that we find ourselves in now in terms of construction, inflation and the challenges that exist there.”
Addressing criticism over his meeting with the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) - which represents loyalist paramilitary groups including the UDA and UVF - Mr Lyons said his position had been misrepresented.
‘I am opposed to all paramilitary activity, violence and criminality. I am not endorsing, I have not endorsed and I never will endorse any paramilitary activity."
Mr Lyons said the LCC said they are representing those who want to move away from paramilitary activity and violence. He said he met them to show them what can be achieved through politics.
Mr Lyons said “I believe it is important and there is a duty on me to support those who are sincere in moving elements away from criminality.”
He said that in talks with the LCC, issues including housing and deprivation were discussed and he encouraged the group to engage with democracy.
“I made clear at the start of the meeting the importance of the democratic process and that’s the way that we deal with the issues we face today,” he said.
The minister addressed concerns that despite meeting the LCC, he had not met other groups. He recently faced criticism over the length of time it took for him to attend events run by the GAA since taking up his post.
Mr Lyons said since taking up his post he has received 763 invitations to attend meetings or events and had attended 395 of these.
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan asked Mr Lyons if he believed that 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, if the LCC had any place in society today.
Mr Lyons said: “I think there is no place for paramilitary activity and paramilitaries in our society today. But I think there is a role for those organisations that say they are committed to moving forward and they are representing those who want to move forward.”
The minister said he did not prioritise the LCC and said some meetings with other groups have been declined by him but officials from his department have met them. He also pointed out there have been diary clashes that have prevented meetings from happening.
