Ruairí Quinn
Question:5 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his plans for a meeting with the Scottish First Minister, Mr. Jack McConnell; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2639/02]
Other Questions - European Soccer Championships Bid.
Question:
13 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will report on discussions with the First Minister of Scotland, in particular with regard to a joint Scotland-Ireland bid for the 2008 European Championships. [4087/02]
Thomas P. Broughan
Question:23 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the outcome of his meeting on 5 February 2002 with Mr. Mike Watson Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport in the Scottish Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8022/02]
Question:
28 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will report on discussions with the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland regarding the participation of Northern Ireland in a joint Scotland-Ireland bid for the 2008 European Championships. [4088/02]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:38 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on the discussions with the Scottish First Minister, Mr. Jack McConnell, regarding a proposed joint bid by Scotland and Ireland to host the 2008 European Soccer Championships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2638/02]
Brian O'Shea
Question:40 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the latest information available to him on the progress of the proposed joint bid from the FAI and the Scottish FA to host the 2008 European soccer championship; if consideration has been given to involving Northern Ireland in the joint bid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8023/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 13, 23, 28, 38 and 40 together.
Following initial contacts between the Taoiseach and the First Minister of the Scottish Executive, I have spoken on a number of occasions with the Scottish Minister with responsibility for sport, Mike Watson, in relation to the question of a joint Irish-Scottish bid to host the European Soccer Championship Finals in 2008, including a formal meeting held in Dublin on 5 February 2002. At that meeting we discussed the various requirements and deadlines set out by UEFA, agreed that the question of a joint bid would be further explored and also agreed to establish a bid steering committee comprising representatives of the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Ireland and the Government. The bid steering committee has now been established and has already commenced its work.
Following consideration at Government level, the Taoiseach confirmed to the First Minister of the Scottish Executive that Ireland is committed to supporting the preparation of a joint bid by the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland to host the European Soccer Championship Finals in 2008. Subsequently, both football associations informed UEFA of their intention to present a formal, detailed bid document by the end of May 2002, the deadline set by UEFA. The preparation of bids to host the UEFA European championship finals is a matter for football associations. As the Irish Football Association, the governing body in Northern Ireland, is not involved in the bid, the question of a meeting the Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland does not arise.
I accept the points made by the Minister in his reply and in his previous reply that a joint bid steering committee has been set up representing the FAI, SFA, Scottish Executive and the Government. What will be the representation on that committee from the Government and Scottish Executive? Does he feel there will be much necessity for meetings at political level to deal with problems that may arise as the bid progresses?
My Department and I as Minister, will represent the Government on the committee while Bord Fáilte will also be represented on it. The FAI will have three members and I made it clear to them that if they wanted to appoint a fourth member I would not have any problem with that. It was normally three from the Scottish Executive and three from the Scottish FA.
As regards political matters, it is now a matter entirely for UEFA. If, by 31 May, we are able to satisfy UEFA that we will have the stadiums available, they will send overseers here in September, October or November to view the available facilities. Although people have said we are in the back seat with regard to our bid to host the 2008 championships, that is not the case. If we consider the other bids we find that the Scandinavian countries have nominated their stadia but they are scattered over four countries. The Austrians and the Swiss have only one stadium, that of Grasshoppers in Zurich, with a capacity in excess of 30,000. The Scottish already have four available stadia, Celtic Park, Murrayfield, Hampden Park and Ibrox and will upgrade two more. By 2008, I am quite sure two of the three proposed stadia will be available here. It is untrue to say 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.
Does the Minister agree with the requirement that there must be a minimum of 30,000 permanent seats? Does he agree with me that such a requirement is detrimental in encouraging young people – such as those Deputy Eoin Ryan spoke about earlier – to attend major sporting events, who because of costs cannot pay the admission fee, nor can they go as a family? Does he agree that in stadiums such as Lansdowne Road, where it was traditional to have a young persons' section, this policy, which was very worthwhile, will be eliminated? Does the Minister agree that as Irish sporting events traditionally do not suffer from hooliganism, to have a stadium's capacity reduced from 49,000 to 30,000 – because of the ridiculous rule about permanent seating – does nothing to encourage sport, participation in sport or attendance by young people at sporting events, or those of lesser means, who cannot afford to compete with the corporate sector for seats? This is a policy on which the Government should make its voice heard internationally. These rules prevent young people and those on lesser incomes from attending major sporting events.
I empathise with the Deputy but I am also quite sure that we could make young peoples' sections available in a modern, 80,000 seater stadium. I understand such a section is available at Murrayfield. Unfortunately, it is a UEFA ruling that stadiums must have a minimum of 30,000 seats. This stems from the Hillsborough disaster and the strict safety regulations brought in afterwards. For group matches a stadium with a minimum of 30,000 seats is required while 40,000 seats for a quarter or semi final are required. The opening match and the final requires a stadium with 50,000 seats. I empathise with the Deputy. This is not something that I thought about but, perhaps, it should be brought to the international organisations' attention. Either I, or whoever may occupy this post, may bring it before them that there should be a young persons' section in the grounds.
There is no problem with Hill 16. I should be able to buy a cheaper ticket and stand on a terrace.
The argument boils down to the issue of safety. It is not a question of cost, but of safety. Nevertheless, I empathise with the Deputy's views.
(Mayo): What is the estimated cost of hosting the games? Who will provide the finance? Will it be the Government or will it be funded by the FAI and SFA? Has the funding package been worked out?
To make the bids, we established a sports initiative section in Bord Fáilte which is responsible for any major international event that may be available and has the funding to make bids. Over the next seven years, there will be €55 million available for such bids. It is better to organise such things on a multi-annual basis as this avoids handing out a lump sum since we can pay it in annual increments, as is being done with the Ryder Cup with €500,000 per year.
The FAI has made a submission to this section initially for the opening bid based on the feasibility of hosting the event. This includes other issues, such as transport, and other Departments, such as Justice, Equality and Law Reform. EUFA carries most of the cost of the competition which funds the associations in the fortunate countries, as far as I know. On the other hand, it is estimated that approximately 90,000 extra visitors will come into the country for one group match, which over the three week period means a minimum of €50 million spent in the Irish economy.
In view of his emphatic refusal in response to a supplementary question of mine some weeks ago about approaching the GAA for the use of Croke Park for other sports, why has the Minister had a change of heart? What motivated him to approach the GAA now?
What motivated me was that I believed these facilities would be available by 2008. Cultural change is happening slowly but is evolving in that direction. I would have hated to lose the championships because I did not make an effort this year.
Did I change the Minister's mind, or at least influence him?
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. I give credit to the Opposition parties because, while we funded the Ryder Cup, it was they who had the foresight to do the initial work. Foresight is necessary in these matters.
It was the Tour de France that we invited here.
I stand corrected. It was the Tour de France. We bid for the Ryder Cup.
These things must be done years in advance and so I felt it was my duty to try to get this event here in 2008.
I welcome the Minister's change of heart and am glad to see him acting as he is.
How is the joint bid steering committee being funded? Does the Minister envisage it requiring consultants and, if so, who will pay for their services?
It is being funded through its application to the sports tourism initiative section of Bord Fáilte. If feasibility studies are required, they would be part of that application.