Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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26. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the Rugby World Cup bid, the meetings held and the progress to date with various bodies and the elements of the bid. [46015/14]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Last November the Government considered a Memorandum on the discussions and analysis to date on a potential bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.  In response to the Memorandum, the Government expressed strong support for the proposal and for the conduct of further work to get to the stage of making a formal decision to bid.

To progress the matter further, Minister Ring and Minister Varadkar met with Minister Arlene Foster and Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who are the Ministers respectively responsible for tourism and sport in the Northern Ireland Executive, in Armagh on 22 January 2014. A working group was established to examine key issues further and to report back to Ministers in the Summer.

The working group, on which the IRFU and relevant Government Departments from both jurisdictions were represented, has since reported and, in conjunction with our colleagues in Northern Ireland, Minister Donohoe and I have been examining the report and considering the most appropriate next steps.

The Government has also considered how to proceed, in close cooperation with the Northern Ireland Executive, and we will announce the results of these considerations very shortly.