Alan Kelly (Labour)

I join Senator MacSharry in welcoming Rally Ireland and the WRC to Sligo. This event, which will be held over the next few days, will be fantastic. It will bring a significant number of visitors to one of the weaker tourism areas in the State, according to the regional breakdown of tourism statistics. However, this event provides an opportunity to analyse the value of international sporting events brought into the State. While this rally is welcome, I would question the bang we get for our buck in bringing in other events. The Ryder Cup was a one off and it was a fantastic event but a number of other events were expensive to hold. Within a defined budget, their value must be examined in the context of other activities that could have been undertaken to promote tourism, particularly in the weaker parts of the country. I question the budget set aside for such events, particularly the Seve Trophy recently. This issue needs to be examined, particularly if money can be reinvested in regional marketing and-or business tourism attractions, given business tourism attracts high yield income.

While I agree with Senator O'Toole on the GAA-GPA dispute, there is not much between both organisations. I will not comment on the negotiations behind the scenes but the crux of the dispute is twofold. The first issue is the mechanism for payment but I understand agreement has been reached on the Irish Sports Council in this regard while the second issue concerns the amount involved. The previous Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism suggested a figure but I am not aware that it was honoured following the election.