Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 570 to 572, inclusive, together.

In July 2019, after an extended period of consideration and negotiation, including an assessment of the costs and benefits, the Government approved a package of financial support for the hosting of the event, to which the Deputy refers. The main payment to the event organisers to host the event is an event licence fee which in total is scheduled to cost €22.5 million, not including VAT, which is paid to the Exchequer.

To strengthen the professional game in Ireland in the run up to the event, additional financial support of €8.5 million is also being provided for professional golf events i.e. the Irish Open, the Challenge and Legends Tour Events, scheduled to take place in Ireland up and including 2027. Marketing of the event will also form a key part of the preparations for the hosting and a budget of €8 million will be provided for marketing through and with the European Tour. The above figures are exclusive of VAT which will be in the order of €5 million.

Separate to this, an operational budget will be required to support the staging of the event to cover matters such as policing, local authority support, transport provision, as well as an opening ceremony, and fanzones. These supports will ensure that Ireland can maximise the opportunity which this tournament affords Ireland, the Mid-West and Limerick City and County. The Government agreed, in principle, to an allocation of €19.365 million for this operational budget.

Major sports events have the potential to deliver a range of benefits including increased participation in sport and physical activity, increased trade and tourism activity, and boosting national and community pride and wellbeing. Whether my Department, or the wider Government, supports the hosting of a major sports event in Ireland depends on a wide range of factors including the projected cost to Government, the economic benefits accruing to the State and the event’s capacity to contribute to wider policy objectives.

The hosting of a state-supported major sports event is usually governed by a comprehensive contractual agreement which, in this instance is between the State and the European Tour. Under such an agreement, the Government commits to the provision of a certain level of services together with a certain level of payment to support the hosting of the tournament. The purpose of such agreements is to set out clearly the expectations of both parties, to limit financial liability and to highlight the obligations required of both parties to successfully host the event. The level of services to be provided by the Government, plus payments to be made, in support of the hosting of the Ryder Cup in 2027, is set out in this reply.

The Economic Impact Assessment for the event, which is currently being reviewed to take account of the passage of time, contains commercially sensitive information and estimates for future services that have yet to be tendered for and supplied, and is therefore not suitable for publication.

It is estimated that hosting the Ryder Cup in 2006 in Kildare was worth €143 million to the Irish economy and, on the basis of an Economic Impact Assessment undertaken in 2019, the Department is confident that the 2027 event will be worth well in excess of that amount. The current investment is accordingly considered appropriate given the likely returns arising from the 2027 event.

It should be noted that a post-event economic report will be undertaken, following the hosting of the Ryder Cup in 2027, and it is expected that this report will subsequently be published.