Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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41. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to hold the Tour de France here again in view of its previous success in 1998. [36775/14]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The staging of major sports events is a matter in the first instance for the governing bodies of the relevant sports.

The hosting of sporting events can deliver additional international visits and helps to put Ireland onto travel itineraries as a holiday destination.  The Giro D'Italia and the American Football match between the University of Central Florida and Penn State earlier this year shows that the island of Ireland can successfully host large international events.

I am supportive of the ongoing efforts of the Tourism Agencies and the National Governing Bodies of Sport to attract international events, subject, of course, to an assessment of the costs/benefits involved in any State financial support.  In that context, I was delighted to see that the FAI and Dublin City Council recently won their bid to host part of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament at the Aviva stadium.  This is a fantastic opportunity to host a premier international tournament.

I am not aware of any immediate plans to bring the Tour de France back to Ireland.