The Taoiseach has announced that Ireland's hosting of the Special Olympics in 2003 will get sponsorship of £2.25 million (€3 million) from Bank of Ireland.
The bank will provide €3 million towards the organisation of the event, and a further €1.4 million will be spent promoting the games throughout the State between now and 2003.
Staging the Special Olympics is expected to cost €30 million, with the Government and the EU already each providing €6.3 million.
The deal with Bank of Ireland is one of the largest sponsorships of a single sporting or cultural event on record in the State, and the Special Olympics will be the largest sporting event in the world that year.
The event will attract some 9,000 athletes and coaches from over 160 countries. Over 28,000 family members and supporters are also expected to travel.
The Taoiseach said he was "the first to admit" that many factors, including ignorance and prejudice, had contributed in the past to the exclusion of people with disabilities from Irish life.
"Ireland has been all the poorer for that past failure to face up to the challenge of achieving equality for people with disabilities," Mr Ahern said.
"Now we have a chance to make up for that failure, and I believe that we have a greater responsibility to do much better going forward."
