Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he is satisfied regarding the economic impact of hosting the Ryder Cup; if the anticipated numbers of visitors travelled here for the Ryder Cup; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40885/06]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 40: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if a cost benefit analysis has been carried out on the hosting of the Ryder Cup; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40884/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 40 together.

As I informed the House on 26 October, last, Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with the PGA/European Tour, have commissioned Deloitte and Touche to conduct an economic impact assessment on the Ryder Cup in Ireland and I look forward to the results of their work, which are expected early in 2007.

In the meantime, the success of Ryder Cup 2006, in terms of organisation and the presentation of a positive image of Ireland, has been widely acclaimed. Based on the experience of past tournaments, it has been estimated that the economic benefits of the event to Ireland are of the order of €130m. It is expected that, over the coming years, there will also be a lasting long-term benefit to the tourism industry, and the golf tourism sector in particular, as a result of the worldwide television coverage of the event and the raising of Ireland's profile generally. Furthermore, the positive experiences of overseas visitors to the event will serve as a valuable source of word-of-mouth marketing for our tourism industry for many years to come.

While figures for visitors travelling here specifically for the Ryder Cup are not available, CSO figures show that Ireland hosted 738,400 overseas visitors in September. This is an increase of 14% on the corresponding month in 2005. The number of visitors from North America alone increased by over 19% on September 2005.