The Government has refused to give £1.5 million sterling to the organisers of the Miss World contest to allow them stage the beauty pageant in Ireland.
The National Millennium Committee decided at its meeting yesterday to turn down the request for the grant from the contest organiser, Mr Eric Morley. The contest is now to be held in London on December 4th.
Mr Morley and his wife put the proposal to the chairman of the committee, the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr Seamus Brennan, on July 13th. They had earlier been turned down for funding by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid.
Mr Morley was looking at the RDS and the Point Depot as possible locations for the contest, which has in previous years been held in the Seychelles. Ronan Keating, of Boyzone, who is on the committee, hosted the show last December. He was not at yesterday's meeting due to commitments abroad.
Mr Morley said he was offering the contest to Ireland for £1.5 million sterling. It usually costs £3.5 million sterling to stage but he was hoping sponsors could be found to defray the costs.
A spokesman for the National Millennium Committee said last night: "There are already hundreds of domestic projects being considered for funding and this was going to be an annual event. After discussion the committee decided not to give the money."