Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with the Deputy that it would be wonderful to see Katie Taylor in Croke Park. To that end, my very first meeting with anyone from outside the Department was with Katie Taylor's manager, Brian Peters, in the early part of January. It was explained to us that there was a funding gap between what the promoters were prepared to pay for the fight and what the fight would actually cost. We said that the Government absolutely supports major events, but there is a process to go through. Immediately after the meeting, we raised queries on what the cost would be and other details that would be necessary. The Department is currently considering responses to those queries. One of the difficulties is with the date. If one is doing the cost-benefit calculations with regard to tourism, which the major events have to go through, one must consider that the Heineken Cup final is already being hosted on 20 May. It is a huge event in European rugby and Dublin tourism will be full that night. A fight in November which was previously mooted for last year would have been an entirely different calculation. However, the consideration is still ongoing. Mr. Hearn said on some MMA channel yesterday that the Government had not been in touch, but that is simply not the case. There has been a range of meetings and correspondence in the past while.

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