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The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has blasted the Irish government's plans to reserve Six Nations and Heineken Cup matches involving the country's teams for free-to-air television.

The IRFU has described the proposal, which is being championed by Minister Eamon Ryan, as "seriously misguided" and believes it represents the "greatest threat to the sport of rugby in Ireland since it went professional in 1995".

According to the IRFU, the change in policy would result in a loss of 18 per cent (12m Euros) of the union's annual income. Such a development would, the IRFU claims, have a number of serious knock-on effects, including significant reductions to the 10m Euro annual budget for clubs and schools, and the end of the game’s mass appeal in Ireland.

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne also thinks that the drop in revenue from the sale of TV rights to pay-per-view television could affect the union's attempts to repay its share of the new Aviva Stadium.

"We have been developing our commercial platform for over 10 years now and have no idea how the Minister thinks that greater viewership, which is a questionable proposition in itself, will yield 12m Euros to us," he said.

"The irony is that Minister Ryan's proposal would destroy both the sport and the very cultural events the Minister believes he would be protecting. If we do not have the money to invest in our sport and especially to be successful at professional level – well then everything else unravels as popularity declines.

"We can see how the loss of success leads to a loss of popularity in other unions where they have struggled for years on and off the pitch to find the right model in what is still a new and developing sporting business.

"Rugby is highly accessible and growing under our stewardship and in partnership with the Six Nations, European Rugby Cup, Magners League and the International Rugby Board.

“Together we are confident we will continue to grow the sport as evidenced by the last 10 years but with a balanced approach that ensures Irish rugby maximises its value for the benefit of supporters across the island – North and South. That means a mix of free-to-air and pay-per-view platforms."

Six Nations chief executive John Feehan admitted that his organisation is baffled by the timing of Minister Ryan's proposal.

"We cannot understand why the Minister is bringing this up now," he added. "This is a three-year review process and the Six Nations Championship is already guaranteed to be shown on RTE for the next three years.

“In any event, the Championship is B listed, which means it would be shown on terrestrial TV on a deferred basis. Moving the Championship to an A list would have a detrimental effect on the sharing agreement between the six unions and gravely affect the unity of the Six Nations.

"The other unions cannot understand why Ireland is biting the hand that feeds it when Irish rugby already receives more than four times what Ireland brings to the central pot. This would have a devastating effect if it went ahead."