IN a concerted push to bring the Ryder Cup to this country in 2005, one of the key concerns of a Government-appointed committee was continuity of commitment. It is a problem which the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Enda Kenny is ready to confront.

"While I cannot speak for a future minister, my view is that he or she would be very much off the mark if they were to undo the process that we have set in motion," he said. "In fact, I couldn't envisage a future Minister for Tourism failing to lend full support to the idea of bringing the Ryder Cup here."

Emphasising the fact that there can be "no absolute guarantee", the Minister went on: "Obviously 2095 is too far into the future to justify hard and fast decisions at this stage. I'm satisfied, however, with the strong initiative we have taken.

Kenny, who has already had discussions with current Ryder Cup skipper Seve Ballesteros and PGA European Tour executive director Ken Schofield, has been invited to Valderrama for next September's clash with the US. "I would hope to fulfil that engagement," he said with a coy smile.

He went on: "A certain degree of continuity should be achieved by the committee set up by Bernard Allen (Minister for Sport). Then there is the continuing involvement of Bord Failte. I think it's significant that the outgoing chairman, Padraig O hUiginn, has remained on as a member of the board."

Either way, it is clear from a European Tour standpoint that Ireland's good faith in the matter will be assessed on the basis of continued Government support of professional tournaments. At the moment, that figure stands at £700,000 per year, split between the Murphy's Irish Open, the Smurfit European Open and the Guardian Irish Women's Open.

Meanwhile, the Minister is looking to the Ryder Cup as a crucial element of his Department's strategy for the tourist industry. "I think the time has come whereby Ireland needs a number of world-class international events to promote it as a tourist destination," he said. "I'm thinking of events such as the Tall Ships, the Tour de France and, now, the Ryder Cup.

"Given the investment of more than £200 million in golf course development in this country in recent years, we may feel we're due a major dividend. The Ryder Cup is unquestionably one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar, and Ballesteros agreed that Irish players had made a wonderful contribution over the years. Indeed he seemed to be very supportive - now that it's going to Spain first."

Kenny then emphasised the support which his Department has received from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. "We have their full co-operation," he said. "They have written to me to the effect that they strongly support our application for the Ryder Cup. I look on this as a recognition of the excellent co-operation that has been established by the respective tourist boards on this island."

Could the event go to a Northern Ireland venue? "It could, insofar as we are talking about the island of Ireland in this context," Kenny replied. But he quickly added: "I assume the European Tour wouldn't be talking to us unless they understood we were looking at the Republic.

"Last autumn's Shamrock Classic (American football at Croke Park) was very enlightening. Over that weekend, 14,000 visitors produced an estimated spend of £35 million.

"Against that background, the possibilities for golf are enormous. I could envisage a situation in the not too distant future whereby we would be bringing half a million golfers into this country every year - mainly from the Continent, the UK and the US.

"For instance, in a recent meeting with the Korean ambassador, he told me that there were 40,000 of his countrymen in the Atlanta area. And they could be attracted here, possibly on golfing holidays."

The Minister concluded: "I find it particularly interesting that while Ireland is recognised internationally as the ninth most attractive sun destination, it is number one as a non-sun destination. I believe that the quality of our golf courses contributes greatly to that perception."