Gay Mitchell
Question:89 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the international sporting events he is trying to bring here. [11500/01]
Written Answers - International Sporting Events.
In 1999, the Government launched the international sports tourism initiative. A fund of £2.5 million, annually, over a three year period, 2000-03, was made available to support efforts to attract major sporting events to Ireland with identified tourism benefits in terms of attracting incremental visitors and international publicity. The objective for the initiative is to accelerate the building of Ireland's international reputation as a sports venue and consequently to increase sports-related tourism. Subsequently, in the budget for 2001, the duration of the fund was extended to the year 2005 and the allocation increased by a further £2.5 million annually.
An International Sports Tourism Partnership Advisory Group, under the chairmanship of the chief executive of Bord Fáilte, has been established to evaluate applications for assistance under the fund in line with specified criteria and to make recommendations for final decisions by the board of Bord Fáilte As the Deputy will be aware we have already secured the Special Olympics Summer Games in 2003 and the Ryder Cup in 2005. A number of major golf tournaments will be sponsored this year, including the International Pairs, the Smurfit European Open and the Murphy's Irish Open. For next year the prestigious American Express World Golf Championship and the Seve Trophy will be held in Ireland.
In addition to the above, events which will be held in Ireland this year and in 2002 include the Laser and Laser Yachting Masters, the Masters World Surfing Championship, the European Figure Skating Open series, the World Cross Country Championships and the ITU Triathlon World Cup Series. I am confident that the International Sports Tourism initiative will help raise Ireland's profile as a major sports venue and generate significant tourism benefits in the years to come.