Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I suppose we should all be delighted about the synchronised swimming team coming to Ireland. It is a hugely popular sport here. We are talking about a huge international event. I am quite surprised there have not been formal bookings at this stage. A number of proposals have been put forward and the Minister identified a list of them. Having spent €114,000 on a consultants' report, I wonder about the return on that since we do not have a commitment for anything other than synchronised swimming team.

Even on the business side, it is a very nice prospect but when can we firm up on what will happen? What kind of returns can we expect since we are talking about the Olympic Games and the impact it should have? As far as I can see, or as far as the Minister has identified, there have been no confirmations for anything other than a synchronised swimming team and I cannot imagine that will bring an influx of tourists to observe it, although it is an interesting sport to watch.

See this speech in context