Ryan defends free-to-air plan

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan has defended his plan to move future Heineken Cup and Six Nations rugby matches to free-to-air television.

The IRFU has claimed that if his proposal goes ahead, it could lose up to €12m in television revenues. The body described the Minister's proposal as "the greatest threat to the sport of rugby in Ireland since it went professional in 1995".

Minister Ryan is defending the plan and says a similar strategy is working well in other sports in Australia.