Sir, - May I congratulate all those concerned in the decision to bring the Ryder Cup to Ireland in the year 2005. The Minister for Tourism has announced that an Exchequer outlay of £6 million over the next seven years will harvest tourist revenues of £200 million from golfing enthusiasts. Given that over £2 million of taxpayers' money has already been lost on a similar effort to host the World Equestrian Games in 1998, one can only hope that our golfing organisations are more effective than their horsey counterparts in fulfilling the necessary requirements for such an important international event.
There is one other major international telecommunications and tourism event looming in which Ireland will be participating, and in which it can take centre stage globally: the worldwide celebration of the Millennium in 2000. To date no arrangements have been made by the Government and no Exchequer funds committed. This in spite of the fact that our cultural resources are of the highest calibre, and our cultural industries are of the utmost professionalism.
In 1993 a report was commissioned by the then Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, which demonstrated that for an Exchequer investment of less than £3 million between 1994 and 1998, Ireland could be positioned by 1999 to deliver a world-class programme of events by satellite, cable and radio-waves to the rest of the globe. No action was taken on this report by the last Government.
It is still not too late for Ireland to get its act together for this momentous occasion. Fianna Fail published a position paper earlier this year which adopted the central recommendation of the aforementioned report. This was for a non-capital, human resourcebased programme, beginning in 1999 at Samhain/Halloween (the old Irish New Year), in which every community, workplace and organisation in Ireland would simultaneously engage in one cultural activity on the four seasonal festivals of the traditional Irish calendar: the first days of November, February, May and August.
If these four spectacular celebrations of the Irish spirit, heritage and contemporary culture are to be delivered successfully to the rest of the world in two years' time, the Government must act without any further delay. Otherwise it will not be all right on the night. - Yours, etc.,
Bedford Row, Dublin 2.