Madam, – I was pleased to hear that the Uefa Cup final is to be played at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road stadium in 2011. Even for those who are not soccer fans, the prediction by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that this match could be worth up to €100 million to the economy is good news.
I hope this announcement galvanises efforts for Ireland to seek to host for other major sporting events. In particular, a joint bid with Scotland for the soccer European Championship in 2016 would have a very good chance of succeeding, given the previous joint Irish-Scottish bid for Euro 2008. Such a venture would likely require a number of Gaelic stadiums to be used, and I would therefore hope the GAA would again consider lending its support to any such initiative.
With inward tourism figures suffering, the Government should also develop an ambitious sports event strategy to capture the hosting rights for major championships in a range of other sports. – Yours, etc,