#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - Minister for Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has ruled out any Government bailout to cover the €400,000 in debts owed by organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race finale in Galway, as the Galway City Tribune reports.
Some 60 suppliers have not yet been paid by organisers Let's Do It Global, who are set to meet with stakeholders this coming Monday to discuss the situation.
The race organisers are themselves owed in the region of €170,000 from their own debtors, but even if collected this would cover less than half the value of their own debt.
Hopes that Minister Varadkar might step in to make up the shortfall were dashed on Wednesday when, speaking to Galway Bay FM, he confirmed that the event already received State funds through its sponsorship by Fáilte Ireland, and that as his own department was operating at a deficit no other funding was available.
A spokesperson for his department added that the Fáilte Ireland sponsorship "was the biggest allocation to any tourism event in 2012".
The news all but rules out the potential third bid to host the event, at least for the foreseeable future.
