Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world and, during 2022, Minister Martin engaged with her counterpart in Northern Ireland, the then-Minister for the Economy, regarding a potential joint bid to co-host the opening 3 stages of the race, the Grand Départ.

Departmental officials engaged with counterparts in Northern Ireland and established a project group to scope out the details of a possible bid. In July 2023 the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland wrote to my Department to advise that it had decided to cease work on the potential for a joint bid. As any hosting bid was envisaged as a north-south all-island initiative my Department is no longer pursuing a bid and this has been communicated to the event organisers.

Should the opportunity arise again to consider a bid to host the Grand Départ, whether jointly or singly, the experience gained in the process outlined above will be of use to any such future consideration.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The Europa League is Europe’s secondary club football tournament, second only to the Champions League. In July 2021, UEFA announced that due to the withdrawal of hosting rights for UEFA EURO 2020 (due to Covid-19), the Aviva Stadium in Dublin was being awarded the hosting rights for the 2024 Europa League Final.

Hosting an event of this profile is an important opportunity for the FAI, the stadium, Dublin City and the country, especially in the context of UEFA's recent announcement that Ireland will co-host EURO 2028 with the UK.

Departmental officials have been liaising with the FAI, Dublin City Council, Government Departments and state agencies in preparation for the event. The project will be co-ordinated by the FAI as hosts, with my Department co-ordinating Government support where required. A number of operational, co-ordination and strategic groups have already been established and are expected to operate up to the delivery of the event with officials from my Department attending as required.

With the assistance of Government, Dublin City Council will provide a fan festival, host city dressing, mobility signage and fan meeting points. In addition, the State is also coordinating on public transport solutions for supporters and any additional policing that might be required around the event.

I am confident that all of the partners working together will ensure a successful hosting of the final.