Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----for the Rugby World Cup. It is not about disloyalty or undermining the bid. We have a democratic responsibility to ask these questions. I have no doubt that the Minister, Deputy Ross, would be asking similar questions to those I asked were he on this side. In respect of Senator O'Mahony's comments, yes, in the past all Rugby World Cups have made profits and have not become a weight on the Exchequer. I accept that, but the same thing was said in respect of banks and bailouts when we were talking about pulling on the green jersey and voting the right way to make sure no banks ever collapsed. We learned hard lessons from that. I have a deep mistrust of many of these financial experts who give the Government advice. They have been proven wrong on many occasions before. I was going to read a selection of quotes from the Minister in respect of some of these companies.

We have to be careful about underwriting tournaments when we do not know how much we are underwriting. We must have guarantees about access to tickets. We have to understand what is meant by selected sponsorship. Above all else, this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase this island in its entirety with the possibility of 450,000 tourists coming to see the matches, but we have to do our best to ensure that it is a good experience and that these tourists will not be ripped off and travel home with a sour taste in their mouths regarding visiting Ireland.

This is rushed legislation. We need to have a far longer and more serious debate to make sure that, if we are successful in our bid as I truly hope we will be, the 450,000 who will come here have a good experience and will not be ripped off. We must have some assurance that people will be able to see these games in their own homes.