Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I am replying on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, who is the chair of the London 2012 co-ordinating group. As the Minister of State is in Brussels for a meeting of European sports ministers today, he cannot respond to the Deputy in person. The high level London 2012 co-ordinating group, which was established in 2009, is looking at opportunities for Ireland across the sports, tourism, cultural and enterprise sectors that arise from the proximity of next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. The group comprises representatives of the Irish Sports Council, Paralympics Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A letter from Mr. Hickey advising of his resignation from the London 2012 co-ordinating group was received by the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, last week. The Minister of State responded to Mr. Hickey on 24 November last to thank him for his contribution to the group since its inception. While the Minister notes Mr. Hickey's views regarding the group, he believes the group has been most effective in its brief to identify opportunities across all sectors that can benefit from the London games. The discussions of the London 2012 co-ordinating group are taking into account the current economic situation and the findings of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics task force report, which was published in 2009.

The taskforce report made several recommendations arising from an audit carried out of high quality sports facilities in Ireland and the findings of a report by Indecon, International Economic Consultants, on the economic evaluation of the benefit to the island of Ireland of the London Olympic Games. It concluded the largest potential benefits of the games were in the enterprise and tourism sectors and these are being actively pursued. Enterprise Ireland is pursuing opportunities for Irish business and to date, Irish companies have secured over €300 million worth of contracts relating to the games.

The tourism agencies are working closely with a range of partners at home and overseas to maximise the tourism opportunities. Tourism Ireland is working with several official agencies and official sponsors of the Olympic Games to bring incentive and corporate meetings to Ireland during the games. Several familiarisation visits have taken place and further visits are planned to secure this lucrative business. Tourism Ireland is continuing to pursue this area with the key agencies in London.

To secure additional business for Ireland both as a result of displacement and additional long-haul opportunities, Tourism Ireland is working closely with tour operators in all markets. The visa waiver scheme presents additional opportunities which are being exploited. Tourism Ireland is also working with the official operators in several markets to assist them in offering package extensions to Ireland for their clients who are attending the games. The agency is also working on an extensive consumer campaign during 2012 to target displaced Londoners and those wishing to escape the games. These are just a number of the areas that Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with the London 2012 co-ordinating group, is exploring to maximise the potential from the games.

A proposal was made to Tourism Ireland on the Ireland House concept raised by Mr. Hickey, seeking funding of between €50,000 and €300,000, which was evaluated. Tourism Ireland considers this proposal would not make sense for the organisation as a stand-alone project or did not justify an investment of this scale by the taxpayer, particularly in the current budgetary conditions.

The potential to attract international athletes to train in Ireland in the lead-up to the games is another issue that the co-ordinating group has been pursuing. Several international teams, including the US synchronised swimming team and the UK Paralympic swimming team, have chosen the National Aquatic Centre as a training base, a reflection of the world-class calibre of this facility.

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport is working on attracting other teams to train here and has prepared a CD outlining the facilities available in Ireland which has been distributed to all embassies abroad and to national Olympic committees around the world. A difficulty that arises in attracting teams is that the UK is offering financial incentives to international teams to train there in the lead up to the games and it is not possible to provide such incentives here.

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Another recent positive development around the London games is that the Irish Hockey Association has secured the hosting rights for a men's Olympic qualifying tournament which will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in UCD next March. This event will give Irish people a flavour of London 2012 and will enhance the Irish hockey team's opportunity to qualify for the games.

The cultural agencies are also developing a number of proposals for a cultural programme around the games. I have given a brief outline of the wide range of issues that the London 2012 co-ordinating group is considering. The group will continue to meet regularly over the next year to ensure the various initiatives already agreed by the group are brought to fruition.

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