Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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157. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the international sporting events the Department will be supporting up until 2030; those for which the Department is currently supporting or considering supporting bids in relation to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15955/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Major international sports events can increase sporting participation, encourage domestic and international tourism and also promote Ireland as a destination for education and business opportunities. They present a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland and our world-class tourism and sports offering to Europe and the world.

The Government continues to support the hosting of major sports events in Ireland and to explore further hosting opportunities. This is evidenced by the Government’s support for events such as:

• the US College Football Classic series which has been running annually since 2022 with this year's edition featuring Kansas State and Iowa State universities
• the UEFA Europa League Final in Dublin last year
• the first-ever National Football League (NFL) regular season game at Croke Park in Autumn this year
• the Ryder Cup in 2027 in Limerick
• co-hosting of the UEFA EURO 2028 football championship with the UK
• proposed co-hosting of the 2030 T20 Cricket World Cup with the UK

The policy provides a framework within which the Government can assess and provide support to major international sports events. It outlines the benefits that can be derived from such events, the supports that can be offered and the kind of events that could be prioritised for such support. Further development of the strategy framework will build on the policy by setting out more detailed objectives, as well as defined goals and action points, for a defined period based on agreed policy priorities. The policy and strategy inform the approach to bidding for major sports events into the future.

It will be appreciated that bidding processes for major sports events can be very complex, and that confidential commercial information and non-disclosure agreements are key features of such processes. Additionally, such bidding processes will typically feature other potential interested parties so, for the reasons outlined above, I am not able to specify which events my Department is currently engaged with or considering future engagement with. However, I can confirm any engagements by my Department in this regard are guided by the key determining factors as set out in the new policy framework. This includes an assessment of the economic, sporting and social impact of the events in question.