Motorsport: Minister Thomas Byrne had 'positive' meeting with Motorsport Ireland and WRC promoter

Minister Byrne again told MI officials that any decision by Government to provide state funding to support the hosting of major sporting events needs to be underpinned by an independent economic analysis and business case. 

Henning Solberg (Ford Focus WRC) pictured on Rally Ireland in 2009. The timing of a proposed round of the WRC in Ireland will be key to assessing the event’s overall benefit and feasibility. The 2009 event took place over the last days of January and the first days of February. Picture: Martin Walsh.

During a recent whistle-stop tour of sports facilities in County Cork, Thomas Byrne, Minister of State at Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media stated that he had what he termed “a positive and constructive meeting with Motorsport Ireland and the WRC promoter” at his department on May 1st last. 

In a letter to his deputies, seen by the Irish Examiner, he reiterated his department’s openness to considering the scope for support for a possible future Irish hosting of the WRC, but that it would have to be later than 2025 to allow for a more detailed and extensive economic assessment.