'Common sense' needed in rugby debate

The Government will come to a “common sense” decision on proposals that would require Six Nations and Heineken Cup rugby matches to be shown on free-to-air television, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said.

Mr Cowen today said the Government was engaged in a consultation process and that no decision on the matter has yet been made.

Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has called for the games to be added to the list of sporting events to be made available to all viewers free of charge.

The IRFU claim the plans would cost it €12 million annually, some 18 per cent of its income, and would do long-term damage to the game in Ireland.

"We are in a consultation process. We will come out with a decision which will be the common sense decision for all the circumstances," Mr Cowen said.

"What we have free to air I would like to see retained and I would like any developments in this area [to be] consistent with the development of the sports which are doing so well for us internationally."

Mr Ryan has dismissed accusations from rugby authorities that he made the decision on a “hunch”. He said he had spent a year in consultation on the free-to-air list, which he is legally obliged to propose every three years.

Sky has held the rights for the Heineken Cup in Ireland since 2007 and live broadcasts are available only to subscribers, including pubs. RTÉ shows deferred highlights.

Mr Ryan argued that figures have shown a dramatic fall in audiences when sporting events transfer to paid channels. Limiting audience can have a detrimental effect on a sport in the long run, he also said.

Mr Ryan pointed to Government funding of rugby including €191 million for the Aviva Stadium, funding for Thomond Park and tax breaks for players. He said that television income was only one stream of revenue.

“Do we want to go down the road where certain events are only available in wealthy houses and not in poor houses and do we want kids to have to go to pubs?” he said.

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne said Mr Ryan’s proposal would destroy the sport. “If we do not have the money to invest in our sport, and especially to be successful at professional level, everything else unravels as popularity declines,” he said.

“Rugby is highly accessible and growing under our stewardship and in partnership with the Six Nations, European Rugby Cup, Magners League and the International Rugby Board.”

The chief executives of the Six Nations and the ERC, John Feehan and Derek McGrath, strongly supported Mr Browne’s contention.