The Government will 'look positively' on Ireland's joint bid to host Euro 2028.
Ireland and the UK have dropped their bid to host World Cup 2030, which they announced last year.
Instead the Republic of Ireland, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will focus on a joint bid for Euro 2028.
Intensive work will now get underway between the Government and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
Football associations in Ireland and Britain have agreed to a joint approach to staging the event.
Minister of State for Sport, Jack Chambers, told The Hard Shoulder they hope to learn from the now-abandoned World Cup bid.
"The Government is positively disposed to this bid process.
"Obviously we've had significant and intensive work between the five football associations and the two governments over the last couple of years around the 2030 bid for the World Cup.
"And a lot of that work now can be transferred across to any potential bid for Euro 2028.
"So what we'll be doing with the Football Association of Ireland is, over the coming weeks, is to then decide whether we will support an expression of interest before the end of March - which is the formal deadline."
He says they have no reason not to, as the benefits are clear.
"We're positively disposed and we'll obviously intensify the work to conclude that.
"But obviously it's a matter for Government to finalise that decision, if we're putting in place a formal bid.
"I think a lot of the benefits are very clear around the tourism benefits, the participation benefits that arise - as well as the benefit it leaves.
"We've had major events here in the past and the legacy it leaves in sport".
He says the focus will now move to, among other areas, security costs and stadia infrastructure.
Minister Chambers adds: "We've a lot of experience within the Department of Sport with the Major Events Unit around bidding for other events.
"And we obviously had - unfortunately we didn't host it in the end - but the bidding process around Euro 2020, for example.
"There's a lot of experience and know-how within the Department of Sport".
