The Government has drawn up a list of sporting events it believes should be permanently available on free to air television.
The proposed list was published after the Minister for Communcations Dermot Ahern and Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue met representatives from the FAI, GAA and IRFU.
It includes the Republic of Ireland’s home and away European Championship and World Cup qualifiers and finals matches, All-Ireland football and hurling finals, the Olympics, the Irish rugby team's matches in the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup and in racing the Irish Grand National and the Irish Derby.
The move comes in the wake of the FAI’s decision earlier this month to sell the rights for the Republic of Ireland’s home internationals to Sky television, a subscriber-only channel.
Following legal advice from the Attorney General and considering the stance taken by the EU Commission, Dermot Ahern said he believed this course of action was the right one to follow.
He said: I believe it is vital that sporting events of major national importance that are an intrinsic part of Irish life should remain free to air on terrestrial television.
"The events I have proposed listing are central to many people’s lives and should not be restricted to viewers with the means to afford subscriptions or pay per view."
The list has already been condemned by the FAI who released a statement claiming it would seriously affect the future of sport in the country.
They also assert that the list was compiled without agreement from all the parties involved.
The GAA and IRFU are also expected to oppose the listing of events.
Proposed list of events:
- The Summer Olympics
- All Ireland Hurling and Football Finals
- Ireland's home and away qualifying fixtures in the European Championships and matches from the finals themselves
- Ireland's home and away qualifying fixtures in the FIFA World Cup and matches from the finals themselves
- Ireland's Six Nations and Rugby World Cup games
- The Irish Grand National and the Irish Derby