Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

​It is disappointing that the Web Summit has decided to move to Lisbon for the next three years, particularly as it has been such a great success in Dublin and grew so impressively over that time. I am open to engaging with the organisers of the Web Summit with a view to the summit staying in Dublin in the future and they have indicated this is something they wish to consider.  However, the organisers were clear about their intention to leave and that it was a commercial matter for the organisers to consider and upon which to decide.  I wish them the best of luck in the future and of course would be delighted were this event to return to Ireland in the future. In considering how that might happen, my Department will play any role it can to facilitate such a return. It should be noted, however, that Fáilte Ireland continues to work with the international conferencing sector to win events and many other events continue to choose Dublin and Ireland as their host destination. Fáilte Ireland has been directly involved in winning 188 international events to take place here over the next four years. This represents €151 million of confirmed business with more than 110,000 international business tourists. Additionally, Fáilte Ireland currently is competing for more than €150 million of other conferencing business for Dublin alone within the same period.

International sporting events also are targeted by Fáilte Ireland to bring larger numbers of visitors to Ireland. During 2015, some €10 million of sporting business was confirmed and the current pipeline is strong with an estimated value of up to €70 million against confirmed and potential events for Ireland to 2020. This includes the College Football Classic, Boston College versus Georgia Tech, in September, which will bring with it an estimated 15,000 US visitors. We can also look forward to hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2017, as well as staging part of the UEFA Euro 2020 soccer championships.

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