When it comes to rugby however, there is one political grouping that you may not have heard about but which is highly effective in an understated way. Stormont’s All Party Group on Rugby contains members from every shade of politics and exists to promote grassroots, through to professional rugby in Ulster.
The Group’s Chairperson is Alastair Ross:
“We are there to help Ulster Rugby achieve its objectives. We help in terms of lobbying for funding and support from the Department for Social Development (DSD), Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL), and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and generally to make sure that Ulster Rugby’s voice is heard in government.
We can also help how Ulster Rugby is seen across Northern Ireland and how the Ulster Rugby brand can help investment by attracting businesses and tourists to Northern Ireland. It’s a two-way relationship that can benefit Ulster Rugby, the development of grassroots rugby in Ulster and can help Stormont as well,” he said.
Alastair Ross is joined by Judith Cochrane,Barry McElduff, Cathal Ó hOisín, Colum Eastwood, Simon Hamilton, Basil McCrea, John McCallister, Chris Lyttle, Michelle McIlveen, Mike Nesbitt and Fergal McKinney on the group.
“Uniquely we have all party support,” says Alastair. “Politicians are often criticised for not working together, but the APG does work well together and its great to see politicians of all shades enjoying games at Kingspan Stadium. I think that reflects the fact that fans from across the community in Northern Ireland support the province and that rugby has the potential to bring the community together as well. That's a unique feature of what Ulster Rugby is doing"
A major focus of the group in recent months has been to support the successful bid for the PRO12 final and looking ahead to future major rugby events:
Alastair says: “We want to have big events in Northern Ireland, like the MTV EMAs, SPOTY, the Irish Open and Open Championship Golf and the Giro D’Italia. These big events bring positive attention to Northern Ireland. The launch of the PRO12 at Titanic last season; the final of the competition at Kingspan Stadium this year; the prospect of the Women’s World Cup coming in 2017 and the Rugby World Cup in 2023 shows what rugby can offer. All of these things are positive and can help us in government showcase Northern Ireland. It also helps us change perceptions as to what Northern Ireland is all about. When we work together on these issues we can achieve great things.”