asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether final payments have been made to Rally Ireland, the Circuit of Ireland and the North West 200 for 2005 and 2006; and, if so, how much each received in each of the two years. [HL3011]

The Northern Ireland Events Company (NIEC) is currently finalising payments to Rally Ireland for 2005 and 2006. To date, Rally Ireland has received £321,869.75 for 2005 and £570,004.21 for 2006.

Final payments have been made to the Circuit of Ireland for 2005 and 2006. The Circuit of Ireland has received £6,000 in 2005 from NIEC and in 2006 has received support to the value of £100,000 under the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) Business Support Scheme, which is jointly funded by IFI and public funding from NIEC and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB). Final payments have been made to the North West 200 for 2005 and 2006. The North West 200 has received £85,897.73 in 2005 from NIEC and in 2006 has received support to the value of £145,687 under the IFI Business Support Scheme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 22 March (WA 226) concerning Rally Ireland, whether the amount of sponsorship for the event will depend on the amount of activity which is created in the United Kingdom. [HL3014]

The final amount of sponsorship for the 2007 Rally Ireland event will be dependant on the amount of potential benefit to Northern Ireland demonstrated in the approved business case.