Ireland must take the one chance it has to co-host the European soccer championships, because "we will never get this chance again", the Minister for Sport insisted in the Dáil.

Dr McDaid said "there is some degree of uncertainty at present" but by 2008 "Lansdowne Road, Croke Park and the National Stadium, which I have always backed, will be available" to jointly host the championships with Scotland.

He later said by 2008 he was "quite sure two of the three proposed stadia will be available here".

The Minister pointed out during sports questions that, "we will never get this chance again and must take it this time". It was "untrue to say that we are not at the races. We have jumped the second-last fence and many races have been won at the second last rather than the last fence."

People had said "we are in the back seat with regard to our bid to host the championships, but that is not the case".

He said: "It would be a great pity to lose out on these championships because the World Cup has changed to six world zones. The World Cup will come to Europe only every 24 years.

"All of the other major countries of Europe after 2008 will be bidding year after year for the European championships."

He added that, "we will not get this competition again in our lifetime because the World Cup comes to Europe only every 24 years and so the major European countries want to host this one".

Some 90,000 extra visitors would come into the State for one group match, which over the championships would mean €50 million spent in the Irish economy.

The Minister told Labour's sports spokesman, Mr Brian O'Shea, that the GAA has confirmed to the Government that it would consider the request to accommodate some of the championship games if its annual Congress in mid-April approved the use of Croke Park by other sporting "codes".

The IRFU would lose capacity for 14,000 spectators by reducing its 49,000 place stadium to comply with European safety standards.

It is unwilling to do this without the creation of a national stadium to replace lost capacity for its games.