Eoghan Murphy
Question:94. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the proposed bid for the Rugby World Cup. [7802/14]
View answerTuesday, 18 February 2014
Questions (94, 108, 850)
John O'Mahony
Question:108. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the proposed bid for the Rugby World Cup; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7619/14]
View answer
Bernard Durkan
Question:850. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which it might be possible to enhance tourism in conjunction with the Rugby World Cup; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8305/14]
View answerOral answers (10 contributions)
Will the Minister provide an update on the proposed bid for the Rugby World Cup?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 94, 108 and 850 together.
Last November, the Government considered a memorandum on the discussions and analysis to date on a potential bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023. While the memorandum identified a number of challenges, the great potential of the event is also clear and I believe that hosting the Rugby World Cup on a cross-Border basis in 2023 would be a great opportunity for Northern Ireland and Ireland. Aside from the potential economic boost, the tournament would raise our international profile, not just in terms of sport and tourism but also more widely in terms of business, trade and investment. Attracting major international events is a key element of tourism strategy on both sides of the Border and co-operation between North and South can enhance such events.
In response to the memorandum, the Government expressed strong support for the proposal and for the conduct of further work to get to the stage of making a formal decision to bid. To progress the matter further, the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, and I met with Arlene Foster, MLA, the Minister responsible for tourism in the Northern Ireland Executive, and Carál Ní Chulín, MLA, who is responsible for sport in the Northern Ireland Executive, in Armagh on 22 January. At that meeting, we agreed to establish a working group to examine some key issues further and to report back to Ministers in the summer. The working group will hold its first meeting next Tuesday, 25 February.
I am sure the Minister and the House will join me in wishing the Irish rugby team every success this weekend, when it travels to Twickenham to face England in the RBS 6 Nations Championship. Hosting the Rugby World Cup is a very exciting prospect for this country, not just for rugby fans but for everybody. The country, North and South, can benefit from it in the many years leading up to the games and for many years after them. It is important that when we put the bid together we invest the appropriate time and money in it. It is akin to a bid to host the Olympic Games. Will the Minister make additional funding available for rugby and for hosting the Rugby World Cup, in particular through the sports capital grant programme? Who is on the working group? What bodies are represented on it? Who will chair the working group?
I agree with the Deputy that this would be a great opportunity for the country. With regard to the sports capital programme and the funding we provide each year to rugby in this country, we were delighted this year to be able to keep our funding to the Irish Sports Council intact. I was delighted that rugby got its fair share of the national cake.
Tomorrow meetings will take place in Belfast between those involved, North and South, and an announcement will be made on who will chair the committee. The chairman will be independent and I am pleased that he has accepted the position. Out of respect to our colleagues in Northern Ireland, we will have to wait until tomorrow to announce who the chairman is, but people will be pleased as he is a person of stature who will do an excellent job for the country.
A number of issues will have to be examined. The Deputy asked whether funding would be required to put the bid together. That is one of the issues that will have to be discussed; as well as how much funding will come from the North and how much will come from the South and how much money will be required to put a bid together. These are some of the issues the committee will examine.
I very much welcome the progress that has been made and compliment the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, on the initiative. It is a demonstration of how sport unifies, North and South. In addition to the IRFU, other sports bodies such as the GAA will be involved. Twenty or 40 years ago that would not have been possible. Will the committee be composed of representatives of the IRFU and other sports bodies or will it be composed of individuals from other countries who have been involved in bids in the past? I presume the IRFU will make the application with the support of the Government. When will the application be made?
The Deputy is correct - sport is something that brings everyone together. During the past five years of the serious economic downturn sport was the one thing that lifted the souls, minds and spirits of the people.
I thank the GAA for making its facilities available because the bid could not happen if it did not do so. There will be representatives of both Governments, North and South, on the working group. There will also be representatives of the three tourism agencies and the IRFU. The composition of the committee is one of the issues that must be discussed. A roadmap will be drawn up of how the bid will be put together. We must decide whether to set up a company and whether the IRFU or the Government will make the bid. That is the point of setting up the committee. Two representatives of the IRFU will be involved. They must be present because we will depend on them to support us with the bid. I have outlined the purpose of the committee, which is to draw up a roadmap and plan the cost and the funding required from the North and the South. The committee will report back to both Ministers before the summer and many other issues will arise along the way. When the report is handed to the Government, we will then make a decision on it.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive replies. Will the proposed bid be a joint one by the IRFU in conjunction with another body? Will the Minister of State indicate the extent to which all of the history of rugby in this country might be used as a means to ensure the attractiveness of the various locations in this jurisdiction? By the same token, is it possible for him to indicate the extent to which other sports events of a similar international flavour might be used as a means of attracting tourists to the country in the coming years?
Part of the Deputy’s question is related to what the bid for the Rugby World Cup will do for the country, in particular in terms of tourism. There is no doubt that this is one of the events we could stage. Deputy John O’Mahony has referred to the GAA which will also be involved in the committee. This is an opportunity on which the country cannot pass and I hope we can make a bid, but many stumbling blocks will be encountered along the way. Decisions will have to be made on how much the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive can invest in the process. We have an opportunity to show the world that we can host a major international event such as the Rugby World Cup. It will also show how capable the business community is in this country.
The reason we have so many multinational companies is that they know we can do what is required. We have educated people to staff them and we are able to turn around and do whatever is required. I have no doubt this opportunity should not be lost. We will have to wait for the working group to report back to us, and tomorrow we will announce the chairperson of the group. People will be happy with the chairperson, who is of major prominence and very much involved in business. He will be able to bring it together and do a good job for us.
We have the Minister.
The Deputy will have to wait until tomorrow.