Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ring. The reason I tabled the motion is to discuss Limerick's bid to host the 2018 Gay Games and to specifically ask the Government to proactively endorse the bid and to do everything it can to ensure the bid is successful. The Gay Games is one of the largest participative sporting events in the world. It is the largest event that is open to everyone, regardless of age, ability or physical capacity. The games enable athletes to compete in more than 30 different sports at all levels. In the games, people represent their cities rather than their countries.

Winning the bid to host the Gay Games in Ireland would be of enormous benefit not just to Limerick but to the country as a whole. It would be a fantastic opportunity to promote this country as a welcoming country for everybody, regardless of sexual orientation. It would be a great way to highlight the progress that has been made in recent years in equality and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and to showcase the work that has been done. I hope the work will be built on when we introduce full marriage rights as well. It would be a great way to showcase this country’s journey both in terms of how far we have come and where we hope to be in the future.

The games also have the potential to generate significant revenue – up to €80 million for Limerick, Munster and the country as a whole. Up to 200,000 people are expected to attend the 2018 Gay Games, including 14,000 athletes. As one might imagine, there has been a lot of competition to win an event of this scale and importance. Cities that pitched for the 2018 games include Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Orlando, Amsterdam, London, Paris and Limerick. The Limerick bid book was put together by a team of volunteers, including Emma Murphy who is in the Gallery. I welcome Emma and Jeffrey Rockett who are present to hear the debate. John Hickey, one of the main organisers, could not attend tonight but he has put a considerable effort into putting together a detailed bid. He has been selling Ireland and Limerick at every possible level, highlighting the excellent sporting and cultural facilities we have and the infrastructure, accommodation and other excellent points in favour of Limerick as a city with the potential to host such an amazing event.

It is testament to the considerable work that has been put into the bid already that Limerick managed to be short-listed from such a list of illustrious cities to the final three with London and Paris. A delegation from the Federation of Gay Games will visit Ireland next week between 3 and 8 July. The organisers believe it is crucial at this stage to get the strongest possible political endorsement in order to push the bid over the line. I am aware the Minister of State provided a letter of support, as I did, at the initial bid stage. That is fantastic and the organisers are grateful for his support. They also asked me to acknowledge the support they have had to date from Fáilte Ireland. David Cameron has given a strong personal endorsement to the London bid and has made it clear that the British Government as a whole at the highest possible level would love to see the Gay Games in London. That is why the organisers feel that it would be crucial to have the personal endorsement of the Taoiseach to send the message that this is a political priority for this country, that we see the significance and opportunity involved if the organisers picked Ireland against such tough competition.

I accept the Minister of State has provided an initial letter of support but I urge him to up the ante as the final visit will take place next week and to ask the Taoiseach for his personal endorsement and for the Government to stress the importance of the bid in the coming week as openly and publicly as possible. I urge him also to ensure that a Minister would meet the selection committee during its visit.

It is crucial a Minister meets them at the airport or at some point during the four days and says, "Welcome to Ireland. We appreciate that we have reached the final three and the Government would love it if Ireland was picked and would support the bid with the necessary resources". We could then showcase Limerick during the games, making the most of these games.