Willie Penrose
Ceist:76 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the efforts, if any, he has made to bring the Special Olympics to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3453/99]
Written Answers - Special Olympics.
The Government has already, in November, 1997, approved grant assistance, up to a maximum of £5 million, towards the cost of holding the Special Olympics World Summer Games, 2003 in Ireland, should the bid to secure them be successful.
When the bid site selection team visited Ireland in April last to assess Ireland's capability to host the Games in 2003, I hosted a reception in DVBLINIA and a breakfast in Government Buildings which gave the team an opportunity to assess the enthusiasm already generated among the business community for the games and to be assured of the Government's support for the bid.
In October last I informed the House that Special Olympics International had asked that Special Olympics Ireland obtain a written statement from the Irish Government that half of the £5 million grant be converted into an unconditional guarantee of £2.5 million against potential financial loss by the 2003 Games Organising Committee.
It would have been impossible for the Government to issue an unconditional guarantee that it would undertake to underwrite any debts arising from the holding of the World Games. However, the Minister for Finance decided, in order to enable the games organising committee step up the momentum of its fund-raising efforts and to leverage financial backing on the scale required from other sources by end-1999, that the allocation for the games in the 1999 Estimates should be increased from £250,000 to £2.5 million, in lieu of a State guarantee, within the maximum grant of £5 million. The new allocation will be published in the Revised Estimates Volume for 1999. This development was noted by the Government and Special Olympics Ireland was informed of the decision in November last.
A final decision by Special Olympics Ireland on the location of the 2003 Special Olympics Summers Games is awaited.