Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I recently met with representatives of the Irish Rugby Football Union who briefed me on the organisation's opposition to the proposals by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to make a number of additions to the current list of designated events of major importance to society, thus making them free-to-air for Irish television viewers. The IRFU considers that any form of change to the existing designated list would have a very significant impact on revenues to the organisation which would impact greatly on its grass roots programmes and lead to an exodus of professional players to other jurisdictions. The IRFU advised me that the proposals would undermine the economic model on which the funding of Irish rugby is based.

I have also met representatives of the GAA to discuss the proposals as they relate to Gaelic games although the proposals do not have the same impact on the GAA as they do on rugby.

Under legislation, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is required to consult with me before bringing forward any changes to the designated list. I already had informal discussions with the Minister about his proposals. He has now written to me seeking my views and I intend to fully engage with the Minister on this issue while consulting further with the relevant national governing bodies.

There is a need to maintain a balance between the rights of the public to have free to air access to sports events and the rights of sporting bodies to fund and thereby sustain and develop their sport.

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