Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for attending today. I am conscious we only have five minutes and will focus most of my questions on the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in respect of the sporting area, but I have an opening question for the Minister, Deputy Martin, in the tourism area.

The Minister came to the Seanad last month and had a substantial debate with us on the actions being taken to support the tourism industry. The Minister touched on the area of international travel that day and acknowledged there was no silver bullet for it. In acknowledging we do not have an exit strategy at present in terms of allowing for international tourists into the country, which is a huge part of the overall economy of counties such as County Kerry, let alone just the tourism economy, will the supports in place which are due to expire be extended beyond 30 June? How will those hardest hit be supported and what supports are likely to be put in place for them as the summer goes on?

It is great to see sporting activity return to our playing fields and we saw the draw for the various sports made this morning but the financial impact remains. In recent weeks, the Irish Rugby Football Union, had to lay off non-playing staff. It expects a €30 million deficit this year. I know the Minister of State made significant financial contributions to all the sporting organisations, but the reality of fans not being able to attend is hitting hard. The GAA made its draws for its inter-county championships over the past two days, but again, the lack of gate revenue has a severe impact on the running of all the units throughout the country.

When the Minister of State was before us last year, he said he hoped to see fans come back on a trial basis to the Six Nations earlier this year. Obviously, it did not happen as we had a change in the virus. Does the Minister of State see potential for fans coming back into games in some limited way in this country this year? In England, 8,000 fans will attend the league cup final in Wembley, a huge stadium, this Sunday. Can the Minister of State see something similar happening in Ireland this year, whether it be for the GAA championship or for rugby later in the year?

The biggest topic in sport over the past 48 hours is, without doubt, the establishment proposals for a European super league. People might not think it is relevant here but it very much is. We have pyramid system in Europe that benefits us in many ways, because relatively small clubs by international standards get to compete. I remember the games in 2004 in the old Lansdowne Road. I was there for Shelbourne versus Deportivo La Coruña and when Bohemians played Salzburg in Dalymount Park. In recent seasons we have seen our club perform in the group stages of the Europa League. The pertinent point is the clubs involved from Ireland, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk, were playing two teams in the group stages, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, that are proponents of this atrocity. It is very much relevant because our clubs get to play on the international level against this.

I ask about tackling this from a Government point of view. We have access to the highest units in UEFA.

The head of strategic development there is Mr. Noel Mooney, a former general manager of the Football Association of Ireland. The Government needs to tackle this in conjunction with other European Governments. It is being driven by American billionaires and Russian oligarchs. We need to see our domestic league and the hopes of fans here protected just as much as those in England.