Vol. 475 No. 8
51 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the current position in relation to the Irish stages of the Tour de France; and the funds, if any, which are being put up by Government Departments for the event. [5975/97]
As I informed the House on a number of occasions, most recently on 30 January last, the Government has agreed, in the event of the initial stages of the 1998 Tour de France being held in Ireland, to provide up to £2 million towards its cost as follows; £1.1 million from my own Department's Vote; £0.4 million from the Vote of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry; £0.2 million from the Vote of the Minister of State at the Department of Education with responsibility for sport; and £0.3 million from funds to be provided by local authorities through specific arrangements to be made by the Minister for the Environment.
I understand that local authorities may make some additional contributions over and above the £300,000 already referred to, including helping to meet additional local costs such as crowd control equipment, media power supply, etc.
A formal decision by the Société du Tour de France as to whether Ireland will host the event is awaited.
