Mr. Philip Browne:

The Heineken Cup is separate to the others. It is not realistic to compare what happens in Ireland with what happens in France. One must look at the entire funding model of sport in the jurisdiction to understand it. In France, sport is held in great regard by the Government. It is extremely well funded in terms of facilities and operational expenditure. That is not to suggest that sport is not held in high regard by the Irish Government. We are talking about difference of scale not only in terms of the amount of money allocated to the sports budget in France, which is funded by central government and local government, but in terms the size of the French sponsorship market, which is approximately 15 times that of Ireland. The reality is that French clubs playing in the Heineken Cup have, as a result of the marketplace being so much larger, a much wider range of possibilities. Another important issue is where French rugby sits in the pantheon of sports in France. It sits very close to the top. The television deal which France has in respect of its domestic rugby competitions is vast. Its reliance on alcohol sponsorship is different to ours, which is the reason it can survive without it.

Another issue, which relates back to our discussion in the past about television rights, is that we are one of six participating in a pan-European competition where alcohol sponsorship ultimately is a deliverable. If we do not deliver on what the sponsor requires there is a financial consequence. There are also financial consequences for French clubs, which at the end of the day they can live with but which Ireland, in terms of its small marketplace of 4.5 million to 5 million, cannot. The IRFU would welcome meaningful interaction with the HSE on how it can assist. There has to date been no such interaction. We would urge the committee to support that type of engagement. In terms of the IRFU's code of ethics, all our clubs sign up to a code of ethics which includes sections in regard to substance misuse, alcohol abuse and recommendations on how matches at under-age level are managed.