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. 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.
In order to progress the matter further, Minister Ring and I met with Minister Arlene Foster and Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who are the Ministers respectively responsible for tourism and sport in the Northern Ireland Executive, in Armagh on 22 January. 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, on which the IRFU and relevant Government Departments from both jurisdictions are represented, has held three meetings to date with the next meeting scheduled to take place on Monday next 19 May. I look forward to receiving their report.
