'Very frustrating': Ireland's bid to host World Rally Championships falls through over funding

File photo of Ott Tanak at the World Rally Championship in Wales in 2014.

TDS AND SENATORS have expressed frustration after Motorsport Ireland announced that Ireland is no longer in the running to host the FIA World Rally Championship next year after failing to secure Government funding.

In a statement yesterday, the organisation said they had received confirmation from Minister of State for Sport Thomas Byrne that his Department would need “at least six months” to review the proposal and undertake further economic assessments.

In January, Motorsport Ireland proposed Kerry, Limerick and the South East region as locations for a bid to host the championship for the years 2025-2027, with the location rotating each year.

The organisation said it first approached the Government in early 2023 and held a “fruitful meeting” with Byrne on the matter in June, before submitting a full event screening application to the Major Sports Events Unit in October 2023.

After receiving no update from the Department by the March deadline, the organisation requested and was granted an extension of two weeks.

“From the beginning Motorsport Ireland have been very clear that March 2024 was the cutoff for receiving acknowledgment if we were successful or not in our request for funding. This deadline wasn’t chosen by Motorsport Ireland, this was an operational deadline set by the World Rally Championship promoter,” the organisation continued.

“To date, Motorsport Ireland have received no questions or feedback on any of the documents we submitted, despite multiple communications to the Department asking if additional information was required.

To learn on the last day of our extension from the promoter that Minister Byrne’s Department now require another six months to undertake further independent assessments and analysis is very frustrating.

Motorsport Ireland President Aiden Harper said he was “saddened” that it had come to this, but that the group had been left with no option.

“We always stated that the FIA World Rally Championship could only come to Ireland with the financial support of Government while always being aware that the funding may not be forthcoming. It is a great shame to have to hand this great opportunity, and the economic benefit it would bring, over to another awaiting country.”

The news has been met by frustration by politicians. At a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last night, a number of TDs and Senators expressed their “annoyance” and called for the Government to intervene.

Party colleagues warned that Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and the wider Munster region will subsequently lose out.

In a statement, Fine Gael Senator Maria Byrne said she was “perplexed” by the news, as she understood Motorsport Ireland made its application to host the championship over six months ago and has been confident of their chances of success.

“Instead, this morning I learned that after multiple ignored requests for meetings, on the final deadline granted by the FIA, Minister Byrne says he needs more time. This delay effectively takes Limerick out of the running for the bid,” she said.

“On Saturday at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, Minister Byrne affirmed his determination to deliver as much funding as possible, as quickly as possible in his speech. Sadly, this situation has me questioning that assertion.

This is a real blow for Limerick and the Midwest region. We can’t allow administrative blunders like this to inhibit us from showcasing Munster and Ireland in general on the world stage.

“I urge the Minister to streamline this application and engage as necessary with Motor Sports Ireland’s application to thoroughly explore the possibility of hosting years beyond 2025.”

Independent TD Matt Shanahan said the Government’s failure to commit to hosting the championship before the closing date was a “complete dereliction” of their responsibility.

Shanahan said Waterford City and County Council had agreed to provide buildings to support international media, along with the quayside for pitlane use.

Waterford Port had also agreed to make additional parking available, and many local hotels had already received bookings from visitors expecting to attend over the three days, he claimed.

“It is truly astounding to witness the overspends that have been allowed in Cabinet constituency projects without a word of comment, and yet value-for-money metrics are scrutinised at every turn once a project like this is mentioned,” he said in a statement.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department said it is not in a position to commit “significant public monies” to hosting the championship next year.

However, they said it has offered to commit public funds towards “an independent economic analysis and business case being carried out, should Motorsport Ireland be amenable to hosting the World Rally Championship in later years, beyond 2025″.

“Motorsport Ireland sought State support to host rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship in 2025, 2026 and 2027, to the value of €4 million per annum,” the spokesperson said.

In examining the proposal, the Department considered the experience in and outside of Ireland in hosting the event in the past, and engaged with key stakeholders including including Fáilte Ireland and Sport Ireland.

“Following this assessment by the Department and engagement with Motorsport Ireland, the Department identified potential issues regarding Motorsport Ireland’s proposal, including the likely return on investment, the displacement impacts of holding an event in busy tourism months, and capacity concerns,” the spokesperson continued.

They pointed out that a Government decision is needed in order to approve the allocation of the significant resources required for hosting major sports event, including in areas such as security, transport and other logistics, and that any decision to provide funding “needs to be underpinned by an independent economic analysis and business case”.

“In light of the need for more detailed assessment and further information and given that Motorsport Ireland proposes to host the World Rally Championship in a relatively short time, the Department is unable to commit to public monies towards supporting an event starting in 2025, given the need for further and thorough assessment.”