To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for an update on how her Department is working to ensure that the infrastructural changes required to stage the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019 are approved and completed.

Mrs Foster

The Royal and Ancient (R&A) announced on Monday 16 June 2014 that Royal Portrush Golf Club had been invited to join the rota to host the Open Championship. It is hoped that the first event will be hosted as early as 2019, however, that is still to be confirmed by the Royal and Ancient and Royal Portrush Golf Club. It is subject to securing planning approvals for course improvements and completion of the works. The full planning application for the required course improvements was submitted to DOE Planning Service at the beginning of December 2014 and is currently progressing through the consultation and approval process. Once approval is secured, it is hoped that works will commence on site later this year.

Mrs Foster

That was very much part of our preliminary conversations before they announced that they would come to Royal Portrush. The fact that we were able to host the Irish Open at Royal Portrush back in 2012 gave them a great degree of confidence that we were going to be able to deliver on the promises that we were making for the Open. A number of planning issues need to be sorted out over the next period of time. I am confident that we will move those forward. As I said, the planning application just went in at the beginning of December, so there is a little bit of time, but, hopefully, the new council and the planning authorities will look on the application sympathetically because it will be a tremendous opportunity if we can bring the Open to Northern Ireland in 2019.

Mr G Robinson

There has been much talk in the media about hotel development on the north coast. Is it essential for further hotels to be developed on the north coast in order to have the Open come to Portrush in 2019?

Mrs Foster

Obviously, I would like to see more hotel facilities put in place on the north coast. There are gaps in the five-star market in that area. As the House will be fully aware, the Runkerry development had received planning permission, but the estate and the grounds that were earmarked for that application have now been sold by the Macnaghten estate to Dr Peter FitzGerald. The land that the Runkerry development was to be developed on is now part of Dr FitzGerald's portfolio. Therefore, it is uncertain what will happen to that particular application, but I hope that others will look at the opportunities in and around the Open coming to Royal Portrush and whether they can develop hotel facilities there as well. I do not think that it will damage our ability to host the Open one iota, because people who attend these events are well used to travelling. Indeed, when many of them go to other courses, they have to travel for over an hour to get from their accommodation to the event. So, I do not think that not having a hotel there will damage that particular event. Notwithstanding that, obviously I would like to see more development of hotels in and around the north coast.

Mr Nesbitt

I want to follow on from the Minister's last answer on comparative travel times. In terms of comparative economic impacts, she will be aware that, when the Irish Open was at Portrush, some felt a little disappointment that spectators maybe did not spend as much time and money in town as traders might have hoped they would. Can she compare the economic impact of the Irish Open at Portrush with, for example, the last Open at Royal Liverpool or, indeed, the last Irish Open at Fota Island in County Cork?

Mrs Foster

The issue of people not being able to get out and integrate with the town and the surrounding area has now been addressed by the European Tour; it is now saying that, if people want to leave the course and come back, they can. I very much welcome that the issue has been resolved. I regret that people were not able to leave Royal Portrush, go into Portrush and return; they had to stay on the course. That has now been sorted out; therefore, it will have more of an impact when we have the Irish Open at Royal County Down, which we are very much looking forward to hosting this year and, of course, in Enniskillen in 2017.