Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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217. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the decision was made to attend the 2018 Ryder Cup; the persons who travelled to the event; the date on which flights and hotels were booked; the cost of the trip by cost; the persons he met with; the location in which he met with Ryder Cup officials; when he met with the officials; the length of time he met them for; the location in which he met with European Ryder Cup officials; and the length of time he met them for. [40505/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The 2018 Ryder Cup is a three day golf tournament organised by one of the governing bodies for golf in Europe, the European Tour. The European Tour contacted the Department in late August and early September to inquire if either Minister Griffin or I would be interested in attending the event. In the normal course, a Minister would attend significant international sporting events where Irish athletes or sports people are involved. Ireland's involvement in the 2018 Ryder Cup included one player and two Vice-Captains. However, neither I nor Minister Griffin were available to attend due to other commitments. Consequently, both Minister Griffin and I indicated to the European Tour that we would not be in a position to attend. Rather, given the Irish involvement in the European Team, consideration would be given to attendance by officials.

Subsequently, the European Tour conveyed their wish to discuss the hosting of a future Ryder Cup in Ireland and sought a meeting to discuss same with Ministers and officials. The European Tour requested that the meeting would be held at Le Golf National in Paris on one of the three days of the Ryder Cup.

The hosting of a Ryder Cup gives rise to considerable economic value in the host country. Deloitte have reported on the value to the Irish economy of the 2006 Ryder Cup. The direct economic value was estimated to be more than €140m and the full impact was reported to be around €240m. Similarly, the value to the Scottish and Welsh economies, from the 2014 and 2010 events respectively, have been reported and are substantial.

Given the potential value of hosting a future Ryder Cup in Ireland, I reconsidered the European Tour's request for a meeting. On 26 September, I decided that I would travel out to Paris to meet with the European Tour and I cancelled my prior commitments for the day of the meeting, i.e. Sunday, 30 September. I, along with the Secretary General of my Department, the Assistant Secretary with responsibility for tourism and sport and my Special Advisor, travelled to Paris and arrived in Paris on the evening of 29 September.

Flights for me and my Special Advisor were booked on 26 September and flight bookings for the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary were made on 21 September. The total cost of flights was €1,989.70. No costs were incurred for accommodation as this was provided by the European Tour.

Discussions with the European Tour began at a meeting in a pavilion at 11.30 a.m. at Le Golf National. Discussions continued with a viewing of the event infrastructure and facilities, followed by a second meeting at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday 30 September. The European Tour was represented by Mr. David Williams, Chairman of the European Tour, Mr. Keith Pelley, CEO of the European Tour, Mr. Guy Kinnings, European Tour Deputy CEO, Mr. Richard Hills, Ryder Cup Director, and Mr. Paul McGinley. Mr. McGinley is a former Ryder Cup Captain and also a member of the European Tour Board.