Work on the national sports campus is due to begin in the new year, Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O'Donoghue anounced today.
The first phase of the Campus Ireland project in Abbotstown, west Dublin, is due to take five years to complete.
It will incorporate training areas for both professional and amateur field games. There will also be facilities and pitches suitable for up to 30 sports bodies and available to the public.
The pitches will be have both natural turf and all-weather surfaces, and some will be floodlit.
These facilities will surround a core building and pitches in what is a "shamrock concept". The central building will provide living accommodation, restaurant, fitness training, gym, sports medical and recovery areas.
In the amateur sports zone, there will be a national indoor training centre which will include a sports hall with provision for 1,500 spectators. It will also "specialist facilities" for the sports governing bodies and be available for use to the general public.
Mr O'Donoghue said Government approval to proceed with the first phase of the campus had been secured an funds in yesterday's Budget.
The announcement is the next major stage in a project in which a national stadium was intended to be part of the development. After the 2002 general election, the Government decided to scale back on the project amid cost concerns and the revelation that the firm awarded the contract to operate the national aquatic centre was a "shelf" company with no assets.
Three State bodies located on the site had been moved and the aquatic centre built, but the stadium was abandoned causing much political embarrassment to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Further controversy emerged this year when it was feared that Ireland would not be able to exploit the potential benefit of hosting training camps for teams involved in the London Olympics in 2012.
"With this standard of facility, we can now look forward to a situation in which Ireland could be an attractive option as a training base for international Olympic teams in the context of the London Olympics of 2012," Mr O'Donoghue said today.
He also announced Government approval for discussions with the Football Association of Ireland on plans to relocate its headquarters from Merrion Square to the former State Laboratory building at Abbotstown.
Some €20 million has also been allocated for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road next year. Exchequer funding of €191 million has been made towards this €365 million project. An application for planning permission will be ready by the end of this month.