Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, has primary responsibility for sports tourism, but I agree with the Deputy on the value of golf as a tourism product. It is a good product for us. A golf promotion entitled, Home of the Champions, is under way using Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell as the face of golf. We also have an arrangement with Northern Ireland which allowed the Irish Open to be held in the North last weekend. The event will return to the Republic next year. We recognise the importance of this issue on which significant work is under way. Slightly better weather would also help but, unfortunately, we do not have control over that.

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