Dáil debates

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

9:00 pm

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. As both of them stated, the matter of applying to the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race to host a stopover of the event is primarily the responsibility of the host port, which is comparable, for example, to the manner in which a golf venue bids with the PGA European Tour to host the Irish Open. The promoters who initiated the process that led to the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway during 2009 are again seeking Government support to bring the race back to Galway in 2012.

The 2009 stopover was strongly supported by the Government, with funding being provided through the international sports tourism initiative operated by Fáilte Ireland. A sum of €5 million was provided in 2008 and a further €3 million in 2009 as part of a special and dedicated Government funding commitment to secure the Irish stopover. The total funding of €8 million provided by Ireland comprised a port rights fee of €5 million, seed funding to activate the Irish team and secure branding on the boat of €2 million and €1 million towards the building of a number of infrastructure items such as pontoons, which have remained in place as a legacy of the event.

As both Deputies said, the 2009 stopover was generally considered to be a success. An economic impact study of the race stopover in Galway, carried out by Deloitte, found significant favourable impact to the State and to the west, in particular. The study found the overall impact of the race on Ireland was almost €56 million - almost double the expected impact. The higher than forecasted economic impact was due mainly to a greater number of overseas visitors than was originally foreseen. Within the overall expenditure, more than €24 million was earned in "invisible exports", that is, through spending by international visitors and participants. More than 200,000 accommodation bed nights were associated with the event, which attracted 40,500 overseas visitors to Galway.

In late 2009, Let's Do It Global, the Irish corporate promoters of the event, approached the Government seeking financial support for a bid for Galway to host a stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012. Since then the proposal has been considered by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and representatives of other relevant Departments and State agencies. Despite general support across Departments and agencies for the proposal, funding of the magnitude required from outside the existing budget lines is not available for the project in current financial circumstances. Should specific funding become available, the Department and Fáilte Ireland have indicated that they are broadly sympathetic to Ireland hosting the event again and they acknowledge the possibility of again leveraging significant economic and promotional benefits across different sectors and interests.

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