Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know it is but it is a brief period. I will try to deal with some of the matters as quickly as possible. The first matter is the delay and the fact that we are coming so late to this, but let me make the position absolutely clear. Preliminary legal advice was given on 1 February, indicating that legislation was not likely to be required in respect of the State's contribution to a tournament company that might be established relating to the Rugby World Cup, subject to any policy consideration in terms of corporate governance that would merit legislation to govern this particular unique transaction. After further examination of the potential governance structures for staging a Rugby World Cup tournament in Ireland, a specific request for advice on vireswas sent to the Attorney General on 3 April. Upon consideration of the viresof the Minister and after receipt of the draft guarantees from Rugby World Cup Limited on 7 April, the Attorney General's office advised on 4 May that express statutory authority through the passing of primary legislation is necessary for the Minister to provide capital support to any tournament company and provide the necessary guarantees to Rugby World Cup Limited in regard to payment of the tournament fee, underwriting of the tournament budget, and the provision of undertakings in regard to public sector supports. This is based on the judgment that there is no specific statutory support for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to expend money on or give guarantees directly for a unique major sporting event such as the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

As this statutory authority must be in place before the Minister signs the guarantees on 31 July, the Bill had to be drafted since receipt of the advice and be passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas before the summer recess. We have moved as quickly as possible in light of the advice we got fairly late in the day. This is the wisest course of action we can possibly take. It is not really the 11th hour but it is certainly late in the day and we are giving as much time as we possibly can to it.

Deputy Troy, and many other people, asked about the €200 million figure. It is not an exact figure; it is an approximate figure. We cannot tell exactly what the amount of the budget will be. It would be unrealistic to say that, but that is our estimation.

On the idea that we are somehow on the line for €200 million, I want to kill that particular canard. We are not on the line for €200 million, unless we do not sell any tickets. If we do not sell any tickets, we are on the line for €200 million. We are on the line for €120 million. We are on the line for the tournament fee. We are on the line for €200 million, but only if we do not sell any tickets. Once the tickets revenue starts coming in, we start reducing that €200 million every single day. We will never have to pay out that sort of amount. That is the absolute maximum.

On the question about the feasibility study and whether a lot of care was taken because there are no reliable projections, the study to which Deputy Ryan referred, which was the Deloitte study, was just one of many feasibility studies done. The working groups of the Government agencies North and South of the Border, and let us not forget that this is a North-South collaborative effort, which is one of the great aspects of it that we have understated here, have been set up and have reported regularly. They have done forensic work on this in terms of making projections, which are very conservative. They have looked at what happened in the United Kingdom and made judgements on that, but they have been more prudent than that. They have reduced the average price of tickets. They have looked also at the number of tourists who will be coming here for the Rugby World Cup and made very conservative projections on that.

One Deputy asked how we got up to the figure of 445,000. The reason for that figure, and it is higher than the numbers that went to the UK, is because we are expecting, with reasonable logic, that we will get a huge number of people from the UK coming here. The people in the biggest rugby following nation in the world were not travelling to the UK because they were there already. We will get a huge bonus out of that, which presumably will fulfil and back up the sort of projections we have got, which are not overly optimistic. We must remember that the numbers that attended and the capacity filling of the stadiums in New Zealand and in the UK was well over 90%. There is no reason to believe those sorts of percentages will not be achieved here. We are very likely to achieve them. Let us not downplay that. As a result of the extraordinary effort and enthusiasm being put into it, North and South of the Border, we are confident that we will fill these stadiums and fulfil the ambitions of those who have put so much effort into this particular project.

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