Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann: recognises that:

— football, the "beautiful game", is the most popular sport in the world, and the number one participation team sport in Ireland with 220,000 people playing for Irish clubs and schools, but Ireland has historically never invested in our domestic league, and exported our best players abroad;

— football has traditionally been a working-class game in Ireland, but has suffered over the last 100 years from poor leadership and chronic underinvestment;

— football was excluded from many primary and secondary schools before 1971, limiting its potential for growth, but is one of the best ways to build community cohesion and integration; and

— significant investment is needed in all sports to deliver new facilities and gender equality with a dedicated focus on changing facilities for women and girls, combined with access to playing pitches, not just for those playing football, but also in the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and other sports;

notes that:

— Ireland's football facilities have fallen behind our European counterparts and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have outlined a 15-year plan that needs an investment of €863 million over 15 years across 2,500 projects, including:

— €426 million for grassroots;

— €390 million for League of Ireland; and

— €47 million for international;

— the Irish team will compete in the Women's World Cup this summer in Australia for the first time, and there has been a surge of interest from women and girls in the sport, but major gender equality issues remain;

— attendances at League of Ireland Premier Division games have increased by 23 per cent over the last year, with an average attendance of 3,430 compared to 2,784 in June 2022;

— 55 per cent of clubs in Ireland do not own their facilities and rely on leases, with half of these for 15 years or less, while about a quarter have leases of less than one year, resulting in financial uncertainty and instability, and exclusion from Government funding streams;

— Ireland has a deficit of approximately 1,000 full size grass pitches, needs far more all-weather pitches to meet demand, and there are not enough facilities to cater for everyone, especially women and girls, with 38 per cent of clubs not able to offer female-friendly toilets at all; and

— football has a strong record of inclusion, engaging those from marginalised and disadvantaged communities, new Irish and migrant players, those from different ethnicities and those with disabilities, building community cohesion and integration;

further notes that:

— Irish football has been historically mismanaged, but through grassroot campaigns, progress in the League of Ireland, and through the FAI's facility investment vision and strategy, the potential for a new future is clear and achievable with investment;

— between 20 and 30 per cent of bets placed in Ireland are on football and a 1 per cent increase in the betting tax would raise €50 million a year providing a dedicated investment stream to invest in football, and other sporting codes;

— football has weak linkages with the education system, and many professional players in the League of Ireland have only a Junior Certificate qualification, but the transition year football and fitness course in Fingal has been successful over a number of years, it will be expanded to girls from August, and ensures players retain a strong link within the education system; and

— Brexit has impacted on the development of Irish football with far more young players remaining in Irish clubs and academies, as they cannot join an English team until they turn 18 years of age;

recalls that:

— in 2017 the Irish international women's team had to resort to industrial action to ensure they received adequate support; and

— it is seven years since the international men's team last qualified for a major international tournament at the European Football Championship in 2016, and 21 years since our last participation in the men's World Cup; and

calls for:

— the Government to give it's full backing to the FAI report on facility investment with a comprehensive State backed investment programme to develop the domestic football game covering grassroots, the League of Ireland and international teams;

— an increase in the Betting Levy to 3 per cent in Budget 2024, with the proceeds to fund domestic football facilities, and other sports:

— with a specific commitment to addressing gender equality access issues to changing facilities and pitches; and

— a commitment to shared community playing facilities for all towns with a population greater than 5,000;

— a review of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme grant;

— recognition by the Government that football is one of the greatest tools available to support integration of new communities, participation for those with disabilities, and gender equality in sport;

— a programme that ensures our players can forge careers in Ireland, including centralised contracts for young women and men that would support them to stay in the game in Ireland for a minimum of three years, and education scholarships to build links between the League of Ireland and third-level educational institutes;

— the expansion of football as a transition year subject countrywide, through the development of a football academy structure;

— the League of Ireland clubs to get a portion of broadcast revenues, and a programme for national promotion of the game;

— Government supports for the potential of an all-island league;

— support for the development of a national football museum; and

— the ambition for Ireland to develop one of the best women's and men's leagues in the world.

Football is Ireland. The story of Irish football is the story of Ireland. It is a game that has traditionally been despised by official Ireland but loved by Irish people. It is a game categorised by underinvestment and poor administration but still a game that has lifted this nation like no other. The reasons for its shortcomings have always been rooted in class. Football is Ireland is at an historic moment. The League of Ireland is experiencing sell-out crowds, the women's league has turned semi-professional and our women's team plays in the World Cup next week, only six years since having to threaten strike action. The FAI has produced a groundbreaking report into the infrastructural deficit in the game that the Labour Party demands Government support for, because football is Ireland.

The Irish Football Association was founded in 1880. By 1905, the GAA had imposed its famous ban on foreign games. Football was the garrison game, the English game. In a 1932 debate in this House regarding the imposition of an entertainment levy on football, from which the GAA was exempted, Deputy Seán F. Gibbons stated: "It must have been a great revelation to the Soccer and Rugby people who visited Croke Park on the occasion of the last all-Ireland final, when they saw revealed to them the heart of Ireland for the first time." Those words were spoken in 1932. That religiosity of the Gaelic codes may still resonate with some people today, but I proudly repeat that football is Ireland. The seminal weekend in the history of the Labour movement, namely, the 1913 Lock-out and the baton charge on O'Connell Street, was all sparked by a riot at a game involving Shelbourne and Bohemians in Ringsend. That was because football is Ireland. In 1914, Ireland won the British Home Championship with a team captained by Patrick O'Connell, who later managed Barcelona. The team also included a Dublin All-Ireland Football Championship winner, Val Harris, and a Lithuanian refugee, Louis Bookman. Mr. Bookman was a refugee, because football is Ireland. The War of Independence saw activism on the part of footballers like Todd Andrews, Oscar Traynor and Sam Robinson, who took part in the 1920 Bloody Sunday assassinations. His cousin, William Perry Robinson, was shot dead in Croke Park later that afternoon. Sam later played international soccer for Ireland and his great grand-daughter, Aoife Robinson, plays for Bohemians. She recently cut through the anti-immigrant narrative online by posting her Refugees Welcome Bohemians shirt, because she knows that football is Ireland.

The first player to score in Dalymount Park, Harold Sloan, died in the First World War, because football is Ireland. Football is partitioned because football is Ireland. Football has been dogged with infighting and mismanagement because football is Ireland. Football people were brutalised in school because football is Ireland. Eoin Hand hid his face in underage team photos, lest it give cause for another beating from his bigoted Christian Brother teacher. Liam Brady chose to play for the Ireland youth team rather than his school Gaelic football team and was told not to return to school. John Giles said that when he left school he thought he was not Irish because he was told he was not Irish and that he was only a corner boy going up to Dalymount Park. Football was educationally homeless because of those teaching religious orders that felt that football was beneath them and that brutalised anybody caught playing what one Christian Brother termed "Peil Luther". In 1938, the President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, was stripped of his role as patron of the GAA for attending a soccer international.

What of those special moments in those early days? I mention the first Irish team in 1924, which flew the Irish flag when we took our place among the nations of the Earth because football is Ireland. When ex-IRA man Tom Farquharson from Dublin won the FA Cup in England with Cardiff City in 1927, he became known as the penalty king. He saved so many penalties that the rule was changed for goalkeepers to stay on their line. Another IRA man, Jimmy Dunne, beat every goal-scoring record imaginable in England and then refused to perform the Nazi salute when captaining Ireland in Bremen in 1939. He screamed down the line at Irish team-mates who had their hands aloft: "Remember Aughrim, Remember 1916". That was because football is Ireland.

There were dark days too. Con Martin refused his 1941 GAA Leinster Football Championship medal because he was a soccer player. Belfast Celtic folded as a club in the aftermath of a sectarian riot in December 1948. The Archbishop of Dublin tried to cancel a soccer international against communist Yugoslavia in 1955 but a Member of this House, Oscar Traynor, stood firm. He was a Minister and president of the FAI and he would not bow to the pressure from the Catholic hierarchy to interfere in the game he loved so much because football is Ireland. When Liam Whelan of Manchester United died in the Munich air disaster of 1958, they said it was the biggest funeral in Glasnevin since that of Michael Collins, because football is Ireland.

Our teams, filled with those of our nation born overseas, including Shay Brennan in 1965, have been generations of footballers who have given expression to their Irishness by wearing the green. Yet it was us, those who were born here, who questioned their Irish identity because of their accents or unfamiliarity with the national anthem. These children of Irish communities in the UK or America who were forced to leave this country, returned to proudly wear the shamrock on their chests, because football is Ireland. The story of Shay Brennan, the late Alan McLoughlin, Courtney Brosnan and Sinead Farrelly is the story of Ireland.

I mention the story of the black Irish, from Ray Keogh, raised in a mother and baby home, the first black League of Ireland player, who played on the Drumcondra side that beat Bayern Munich. This is a legacy built on by Chris Hughton and then by three of the back four who held the Italians at bay in New Jersey in the 1994 World Cup. All three were black Irishmen. This is a true representation of the Irish nation. Today, our under-15 team is showered with racist abuse online, Cyrus Christie has spoken of the disgusting comments he hears and our under-21 team walked off the pitch because of racist abuse. With all of that poison in our country in recent years, our senior side, led by John Egan, took the knee in the spirit of Jimmy Dunne, to a chorus of boos in Hungary, but we could never have been more proud of them because football is Ireland. What an incredible role model Savannah McCarthy is as she proudly speaks of her Traveller heritage when representing her country. Football remains one of the most effective anti-racism, anti-poverty and anti-addiction tools we have. Listen to the words of Sherriff Street's Olivia O'Toole. She has 130 caps and 54 goals for Ireland. She saw at first hand how heroine was ripping her community apart in the 1980s and 1990s. She said:

When I was around 13, my sister would have been 16 or 17, and I could see her disintegrating before my eyes because of drugs ... If I'd picked the wrong path, I wouldn't be speaking to you today. Many of my friends who went the other way are dead now.

Olivia had football.

As a country, we cannot forget those moments that united us, including when Ray Houghton put the ball in the English net, when the nation held its breath and when the ball left the toe of Amber Barrett. I mention those family moments, like when a ten-year old boy plagues his dad to bring him to an Ireland international, even though his Christian-Brother-educated father was deeply suspicious of football. However, when Liam Brady's shot hit the net against Brazil in 1987, my first ever game, I turned to my dad and he was on his feet with his arms in the air because football is Ireland.

We will only achieve this again if we invest. There is a clear and obvious link between the success of this game and the amount that politics cares. Historically, politics has not cared enough and the FAI made that easy in the past but we have a new dawn. The time for photo opportunities is over and it is time for cold hard cash. The FAI report spells it out; including the lack of basic facilities for young players, especially girls. Lisa Fallon described so well at our Oireachtas briefing last month how every girl in Ireland knows the skill of changing her jersey in the open air. That is just not good enough. It is not good enough that so many of our League of Ireland grounds are crying our for redevelopment. How will we support these young players to stay in our system until they are 18 because access to the UK has been closed off? Some 18 of the 20 players on the under-17 squad are with Irish clubs. Are we supporting them in every way that we can? Why are we losing every talented girl from the League of Ireland as soon as they turn 18? Why can we not have the vision to create a pathway for them to play professionally in a domestic league and live out their dreams here? Some 12 years ago, 70% of the Irish women's team played in the League of Ireland, but only two of the squad who have gone to the World Cup in Australia play domestically now. Centralised contracts should surely be part of the discussion. They suffer from short-term contracts, poor facilities and a lack of basic respect for their talents. This is a game locked out of so many schools and it is not good enough any more. Irish football people are finally saying that enough is enough.

We need to support the FAI report. Funding of €862 million over 15 years is nothing compared with the joy this game gives to thousands across the country.

Children, players, coaches, fans, so many of us who will endure the inevitable misery defeat can bring because of the hope for that golden moment, the explosion of joy, the sweetness of victory against the odds. We stand alone as a footballing nation. Maybe we are the only ones who think that Wes Hoolahan is a god, Ronaldo is a cod and Stephanie Roche was robbed for the goal of the year. Maybe we alone can tell a good player from a great player. Football is Ireland. It inspires, it lifts, it binds and it empowers. It needs politics to step up to respect and fund it. Jack Charlton died three years ago this week. In his immortal words, we intend to keep the Minister under pressure because football is Ireland.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Well done, Aodhán, fantastic speech on the day that is in it.

We in the Labour Party are bringing forward this motion very much on purpose. Our ladies are going to the World Cup and we all wish them well and give them our support. It is also an opportunity for us to focus on this sport which is across every part of Ireland yet does not have the support, facilities or engagement that it should have. We are proposing that an increase in the betting levy, given the amount of gambling on football that unfortunately goes on, would help to fund the programme that is being put forward by the FAI.

I want to raise a few issues as somebody who supports many soccer clubs in my constituency and county. My daughter captained the first underage girls' soccer team for Arra Rovers in our village to their very first win. I have skin in the game. I look at the likes of them and my local club that has no facilities. They are trying to buy somewhere at the moment and I am trying to help them. Nenagh Celtic is a club in my home town which comes from very much working-class areas and has a long history. It has no facilities. There are hundreds of examples my colleagues will go through as well. This is not sustainable. It is unfair, wrong and discriminatory. Football is a very inclusive sport. People who work in it on the ground work very hard to bring people with them, for many of the reasons Deputy Ó Ríordáin eloquently outlined. We need to support them. There are thousands of clubs around the country that simply do not have the facilities such as boys' and girls' changing facilities. They are changing in cars. It is completely unacceptable.

When Sport Ireland was before the Committee of Public Accounts recently, I asked about this FAI plan. The chief executive had no opinion. This is a real issue. Sport Ireland said it was ambitious because I pressed it but it had no opinion. We need to change Sport Ireland. It should be the regulator but it is not. Sport Ireland issues policy guidelines but it has no power as regards directing investment into facilities like the FAI report. Sport Ireland does not decide capital sports grants. It has direction over policy and guidance but when it comes, dare I say it, to the sexy capital funding requirement, that is still with the Department. There is no joined-up thinking or long-term vision. The implementation of this plan from the FAI, which the Minister should support, should be brought through Sport Ireland as a full-time regulator as should all other sporting codes. The role of Sport Ireland should be changed to reflect that. We need to look again at the sports capital application process to ensure we can get a wider amount going out to various soccer clubs around the country.

I want to focus on two more things. The impact of Brexit on the future of young players coming through is quite dramatic as they have to stay in Ireland until they are 18 years of age. That has changed a lot for players who would have otherwise gone across the water to Britain. We need to look again at how we grow and keep these players into the future. The success of the International Rugby Experience in Limerick is something I am very much taken by. Given the history we have when it comes to football and everything my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, outlined so eloquently, it is time we put in place a plan for such a museum here in the heart of Dublin to show our history and bring people along with our tradition as regards football as well.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I commend Deputy Ó Ríordáin, whose passion for this subject has been evidenced today. We have been listening to it as a parliamentary party for quite some time. His passion has convinced us to give very precious Private Members' time to what is truly an important issue for every community and every one of our constituencies. We have in this motion an opportunity for every party and the House collectively to do something really important, to meet the passion of so many young people in all our communities, a passion for football. It is the most played and most popular sport on the planet. We know the value of participation in sport, any sport, for health, well-being, social and emotional development. In truth, the Government has in recent times made substantial public funding available for sports clubs and facilities. That is an absolute truth.

The motion wants us to recognise, in acknowledging the good and the bad from the past, what is potentially there for the future, to be forward-looking, progressive, ambitious. Government, in truth all politicians, love a plan. We particularly like a plan that has set and clear objectives, timelines and costings. Right now we have such a plan, a 15-year development vision across 2,500 projects to transform the facilities available to every child, youth and adult who wants to play football in Ireland. I understand how public money is decided. I have some experience in that at central Government level. Those projects best prepared and ready are most likely to be advanced and funded. Projects need to have ownership of land or at least a very long-term lease. Up to now, it is true that not every sport has had equal capacity to draw down the funds available. That is an inescapable truth. As the motion calls for, it is time now for the State itself to have a comprehensive, State-backed investment programme to develop the domestic football game covering grassroots, League of Ireland and the international teams. The core of what we are asking is that the State would embrace this opportunity, with our women's team playing at the highest international level, with an enormous support base and enormous enthusiasm. We call on the Government to ensure that is captured and that all those children and youths who want to will be able to play in decent facilities. We were all shocked by some of the stories we heard, particularly of young women having to pass urinals to get to showers. That is simply not good enough.

I know football is in a healthy state in my county. Great work is ongoing and that needs to be recognised and acknowledged. Many clubs such as Bunclody Football Club have ambitious plans to build full-size, floodlit pitches. Rosslare Rangers is hoping to provide an astroturf pitch and there has already been a broad community outreach to immigrants and so on. I can see what is happening on the ground. Wexford Celtic, which are represented in the Gallery, have ambitious plans to provide better facilities. The Wexford and District Schoolboys League, a huge league in Wexford, needs a permanent pitch.

There is so much happening, and so much more could happen if we embrace the opportunity that this plan now gives us and decide, as an Oireachtas, to provide every community and young, ambitious, football-loving person in this country with the facilities to reach their ambition and fulfil their dreams. There is strong support across the House for action. Let us decide, in accepting this motion, to provide money for what we all believe is the right thing.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na Teachtaí as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dúinn plé a dhéanamh ar chúrsaí infheistíochta sa bpeil. I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss this important sport in the Dáil, and I assure Members that the Government recognises the importance of investment in football as one of the key participation sports in Ireland. Football is the beautiful game, and a sport which I know is very close to Deputy Ó Ríordáin’s heart. That was very evident from his passionate delivery of his "Football is Ireland" speech earlier. From my engagement with him, I know how genuine that passion is. I compliment him and the Labour Party on tabling the motion today.

There has been a sustained commitment in that regard by Government, particularly so in recent years when, as the House will recall, a significant financial support package was put in place which ensured the FAI remained solvent, allowing it to continue to function as the national governing body for football and to rebuild after the financial mismanagement and subsequent implosion of the association just a few short years ago. That support package provided for the restoration and doubling of funding for football development to €5.8 million each year from 2020 to 2023. An additional €7.6 million was provided between 2020 and 2022 towards the FAI’s licence fee for the Aviva Stadium. In total, between the support package, Covid support funding, energy support funding, women in sport funding and other various programme funding, almost €62 million has been provided to the FAI between 2019 and 2022. That is quite a significant level of Government investment in one sporting organisation.

While I applaud the motivation behind this motion and will not be opposing it, it is important to broaden the debate out to wider State investment in all types of football, whether association, Gaelic, rugby or even American football. In fact, we should go beyond investment in football to all sports. Tá an Rialtas tiomanta tacú le cúrsaí spóirt in Éirinn, agus an maoiniú a chuirtear ar fáil do na heagraíochtaí spóirt a mhéadú. Tá sé seo fíor i gcás gach spórt. Faoin bPolasaí Náisiúnta Spórt, tá gealltanas tugtha ag an Rialtas go ndéanfar leibhéal infheistíochta an Stáit i gcúrsaí spóirt a mhéadú ó €111 milliún in 2018 go dtí €220 milliún faoi 2027.

As a result of the Government's strong commitment to the development of sport in recent years, we are well on track to achieve our investment targets. This year, the budget for sport is more than €175 million. In addition, it is important to recall that more than €160 million was provided in Covid-19 funding between 2020 and 2022 to support the sport sector and aid its recovery. A further €35 million was provided under the sport energy support scheme since last autumn. It should also be noted that State funding to sport comes from a range of other sources, including under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, URDF, which is managed by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and the Community Recognition Fund, which comes under the remit of the Minister for Rural and Community Development. Sports-related projects currently being supported under both of these schemes are estimated at €38 million and €18 million, respectively. These figures do not include the substantial funding that is also being made available for parks, recreation facilities, walkways and cycleways across the country.

There are a number of elements to this motion which do not come under my remit. With regard to an increase to the betting levy, it is a matter for the Minister for Finance. It is understood that money raised from the betting duty goes into general Exchequer funds rather than being ring-fenced for particular purposes. I would, of course, support any measures, such as an increase in the betting levy, which could in turn feed in to increased funding for sport more generally.

On building links between the League of Ireland and third level institutions, I am pleased to note that third level scholarships are already available to high-performing sports players at many of our third level institutions. In recent years, the Sport Ireland Institute developed the ASAS accreditation, which is based on providing equal opportunity to all high-performing student athletes to combine sport and education, and is grounded in the right to education. The accreditation outlines clear dual career criteria that third level institutions must have in order to receive the accreditation. The accreditation aims to identify and establish a network of accredited institutions who support elite athletes to achieve dual career excellence by applying guiding principles. I would hope to see more third level institutions engaging with this system in the years ahead. Further development of links with League of Ireland clubs would be a matter for the clubs themselves, and one which I would welcome.

With regard to the football museum concept, my Department, through Fáilte Ireland, has previously supported the National Football Exhibition which toured the country between 2018 and 2020 in advance of the planned 2020 European Championship which, unfortunately, were disrupted by Covid-19. The exhibition was a recognition of 60 years of the European Championship and a celebration of the history of Irish football, and I understand it is planned to adapt the exhibition for use in the future by the FAI.

Additionally, a new masterplan for the development of the Sport Ireland Campus was approved by Government in November 2022. The masterplan provides a framework for the further development of the campus over the next 15 to 20 years. The vision for the future of the campus includes the development of a national sports museum, which will celebrate the history and heritage of sport in Ireland as well as recognising the achievements of past and present Irish athletes.

The ability of sport, including football, to support integration of new communities, participation for those with disabilities, and gender equality in sport is already well recognised and supported by Sport Ireland through its diversity and inclusion policy, and through numerous initiatives supported through the Dormant Accounts Fund and through the women in sport programmes. In accordance with the Government’s memorandum of understanding with the FAI, €5.8 million will be allocated to the FAI for football development each year between 2020 and 2023. From that amount, €0.8 million is to be dedicated to programmes that underpin the development of the League of Ireland and the Women’s National League. Sport Ireland has advised that more than €2.9 million, or more than 50%, of the €5.8 million grant funding to the FAI was apportioned towards women’s and girls' football in 2022.

Members will be aware that increased participation in sport by women and girls is another key aim in the national sports policy. Our aim is to eliminate the gender participation gap by 2027. The latest data show that the gap is still at 5%. We know that there is a significant challenge in keeping teenage girls in sport. It is very concerning that while teenage girls are aware of the physical, mental and emotional benefits of being active, only 7% currently meet the recommended guidelines. As the Irish women’s team continue their preparations in advance of their opening game against Australia at the World Cup next week, it is important to acknowledge that football is a key sport in contributing to our aims for greater female participation in sport. We know that there has been huge growth in the number of women and girls playing football. Much of that growth must be attributed to the success of the women’s national team and the way they are inspiring females around the country to become involved in football and in sport generally.

The Government is continuing to support the FAI, and many other sporting organisations, in growing their sport among women and girls. Last week, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and I announced additional programme funding of up to €500,000 to support women’s and girls’ football. This funding will be provided to the FAI through Sport Ireland, and will be invested primarily in the areas of coaching, grassroots and female leadership. This significant investment will help to ensure the further development of women’s and girls’ football in Ireland, and is a fitting legacy of the Irish women’s national team’s qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.

As Ministers with responsibility for sport, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and I want to ensure that every woman and girl has the opportunity to get involved in sport and to experience everything sport has to offer. We are looking to achieve a step change in funding for women in sport this year so that the closing of the participation gap between women and men, which might take a decade or more at our current pace, can be greatly accelerated and achieved in a much shorter timeframe. I would encourage football of all types, and all other sports, to consider what programmes could be developed with extra funding that will bring more women and girls into sport and keep them there.

Before concluding, I would like to add that the Minister of State and I were pleased to announce today that a new round of the sports capital and equipment programme will be open for applications from next Monday, 17 July. The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will provide more detail on this and our continued investment in sports infrastructure.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy Ó Ríordáin and the Labour Party for bringing this motion forward and I thank Members for coming here today. As a former secretary of Boyle Celtic, and the first to get a grant from the lotto of £20,000 for the County Roscommon District League in 1987, I can say that this a most important motion. Soccer has come out of the doldrums since the ban. I remember going to the first game following the lifting of the ban in 1971, when two Sligo Rovers players, Gerry Mitchell and David Pugh, lined out for Sligo GAA, with Tony Fagan on the bench.

It was the first time after that ban that they played for Sligo against Roscommon in the Connacht semi-final, which really brought soccer out of the doldrums.

I ran a double-decker bus to Germany in 1988. It was a great day. Twenty-two of us went. It was the first time it brought great confidence and great hope to our country. They say it started the Celtic tiger.

As a former Minister of State, I believe soccer needed to get its act together and is getting its act together. It needs to be like the GAA. There are so many young women and so many young men around the country. The one thing Governments and Ministers want is good governance and data. If we have that, there is loads of money out there. I wish the proposers of the motion every success.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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I ask Deputy Feighan to correct the record. There is not only one Rovers; there are the champions, and they play in Tallaght.

The era of poor old soccer, football, being at the back of the queue has ended. I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, on his passion and commitment to this - not this week, last week or last month but throughout both his teaching life and his political life. That was evident in his opening statement. The mismanagement at the top of football for years, we believe, has now ended, and there is confidence in the years ahead. The years of abandonment and ignorance of our League of Ireland, we believe, has now ended. We see that with the sellout crowds we have week in, week out, the increased fanbase and the increased reach our national league has. The decades of negligence, the mismanagement at the very top and the abandonment on the part of the political class of football in terms of our grassroots, we believe, has now come to an end.

Therefore, we bring forward this motion not because football is in a state of crisis but because this is the moment to strike. We have the report from the FAI. We believe in it. We believe that football, from the grassroots through the League of Ireland up to the top, can make a real difference. If we miss this opportunity, this chance, we may never get it again. We therefore ask the Government to take this motion seriously and to think of it beyond being just a Private Members' motion on a Wednesday morning by just another Opposition party. This is our chance. When the bunting comes out and is put away after the Women's World Cup, which we are all excited about, this cannot go away as a political issue and a political commitment. Football, for too long, has been in the political shadows, a working-class sport rooted in working-class communities but which cuts through across all classes. We will see that in the coming weeks and we have seen it many times before, but football has always had to do that through struggle, through cutting through systemic struggle that we in politics have helped create but that we in politics must fix.

We know all the clubs in our own areas, and I am happy to see clubs from my constituency such as Balbriggan FC, Swords Manor, St. Ita's, Rush Athletic, Swords Celtic and River Valley Rangers here today. They are volunteers committed to their clubs and their communities. They know the impact football has. The report the FAI commissioned sees the impact football has - the social impact, the economic impact and the health impact - so we need to support it. We need to do so, as Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, with cold hard cash. We have passion for this sport up and down our country throughout all our families, but we have never seen that reflected in the political structures or systems. Again, some of that has been the fault of football itself, particularly of mismanagement right at the top in the FAI, but, as we said, those eras have ended.

I have a football-mad sister who played football everywhere she could. Her five-year-old daughter is so excited about the few weeks ahead and is asking where she can play, where she can just use her feet. That is what she wants to do. She wants to play football. We have to ensure she can.

I commend Fingal County Council, my local council, on its transition year programme. It is the first county council to roll out a programme for transition year students to ensure that girls in school in particular have a chance to play and to commit to and to continue to play football into their late teens and early adulthood, when we know from what Lisa Fallon told us two weeks ago that the drop-off in participation rates explodes.

I see passion in the people in my life for this sport, whether it is my family attending League of Ireland matches week in, week out, or whether it is Carol Reynolds in my office, who has been playing football from a young girl right through her teens into her late 30s, her entire life committed to a game that ignored her and her fellow players. She is so happy to see where women's football is now but she does not want to see that lost beyond this summer. We see the flags for Abbie Larkin as we drive through areas like Ringsend already, two weeks out. We need to support this game. We across both sides of the House need to support this game this summer, next year and in the years ahead. We need football, the beautiful game, to be our national sport. As Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, football is Ireland.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery of Tegan Lyons, Sophia King, Lexi King and Amelia Kee from Mallow United. I am glad they are here because their achievements to date have been exceptional. They are accompanied by Paul Lyons and Philip King. They have won division 1 of the Cork Women's and Schoolgirls Soccer League. They have won the Denise McArdle Cup. They have won the Schoolgirls Football Association regional cup. They have reached the semi-final of the under-12 girls' national cup, when they were defeated by Lucan. On their way to the semi-final, however, they won three rounds to get out of Cork and then beat Dunboyne, from Meath, Curracloe, from Wexford, and Killavilla, from Tipperary, although Deputy Kelly tells me that is an Offaly team. We will see. In total they have played 30 games all season and their only defeat was to Lucan.

The reason I speak for these four young women is that I now have something tangible I can grasp, and that is the FAI's Facility Investment Vision and Strategy. It is an excellent report. It gives us, as public representatives, something tangible to grapple with. I have no doubt but that the Minister's office, that the Minister, Deputy Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, if they have not already done so, will engage with the FAI on the contents of the report. The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, is nodding assent, so that process has started. That is the key template.

I will speak only for women and girls today because this is about facilities, and the Minister articulated that in her speech. What are we about today? We are about wanting people like Tegan, Sophia, Lexi and Amelia to continue on their journey through the game of football, and we do not want any impediments put in their way. Key to that is ensuring that there are facilities for them. The report is excellent in that it speaks to what the grassroots need. It refers to the ground ownership challenge, which Deputy Howlin spoke about earlier, where there are clear metrics. The report states: "27% of clubs have leases for less than one year meaning financial uncertainty and instability." It refers to the lack of overall capacity and states:

31% of clubs are required to operate out of secondary facilities in order to meet the required pitch demand for training and matches. Some clubs, particularly those which are well-structured and organised to grow our game ..., are struggling to meet demand from local communities.

It refers to grass pitch availability and states: "Versus UEFA industry standard (per capital), Ireland is short of circa 1,000 full-size grass pitches." It refers to the challenges women and girls face and states that there is, "A lack of basic female-friendly facilities to cater for the 34k women and girls currently playing and the 50k more that will be playing by 2026", and we know that is only going to keep going upwards.

Today I draw a link between Tegan, Sophia, Lexi, Amelia and the thousands of girls and young women like them because we want to ensure that they have the basic facilities and that the investments are made by the Government in those basic facilities. I acknowledge the amount of funding the Government has expended to date in respect of facilities through the sports capital programme and so on.

However, if we can continue to engage on this report, let it be the template. Let us ensure there is a future and that young women and girls in particular continue in the game. That is always the greatest challenge. These women are playing at under-12 level and we want them to continue right through to adulthood. Part of this motion is essentially about those young women.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome this important motion. Deputy Ó Ríordáin captured the romance of football. I send my well wishes to the women’s football team, in particular Abbie Larkin, who is from the heart of football in Ringsend, in the Women’s World Cup, which is starting on 20 July.

League of Ireland football is in a good place, but that will stop being the case if we do not invest in it. The FAI’s investment proposal is welcome. Crucially, it is based on evidence, namely, an audit of the current infrastructure. I welcome that, under the plans, 50% of the funds will go to grassroots football. It is important the Government would carry out a long-overdue national sports facilities audit. From this, we would have a national sports facilities strategy. This would mean facilities for all sports would be developed where they were needed as opposed to being based on the profile of the club or current ministerial preferences. It would also mean facilities would not be dependent on clubs having deep pockets. A sports facilities strategy would avoid a situation where the county of Wexford would have no full-sized 11-a-side AstroTurf pitch. It would mean we would not have ten counties with no full-sized hockey pitches. Sinn Féin published our national sports facilities strategy, which set out clearly the need to provide facilities in the communities that required them, not in the communities that simply lobbied the best.

We need to reform the sports capital grant programme. It is weighted against working-class clubs and benefits more affluent clubs. For example, clubs need large savings to pay for projects upfront before they can draw down grants. As a result, some clubs have to take out loans. Other clubs may never be able to draw down grants because they do not have the savings to spend upfront. A large number of football and other sports clubs do not have their own grounds and so cannot apply for the sports capital grant. Of Dublin’s football clubs, 73% do not have their own facilities. Clubs in less affluent areas do not find it as easy to access professional services as affluent clubs do.

Ireland is bottom in terms of European investment in sport. If we were in a league, we would have been relegated long ago. Sinn Féin supports an increase in investment in domestic football. Any such increase would be funded through the Exchequer rather than any specific revenue stream. Therefore, the economic impact of any proposal to increase a specific revenue stream should be analysed closely.

Football is not the only sport that has seen underinvestment. All sports have, and we must change that. We need to invest in all sports and all sports must be treated equally, including having equal access to sports funding based on the needs of the public, not on political needs and political expediency.

We need to create a football industry. Irish football needs to be professionalised so that it can generate the bulk of its own income. If we invest in Irish football and professionalise the sport, we will create jobs in football and attract interest and investment into it. When the film industry was on its knees, the State invested in it. Today, it is thriving. The State needs to do the same for Irish football. The high-tech industry was and is supported by the State. The same must be done for Irish football. We need to introduce the leisure card scheme to address the rising cost barrier to participation. A recent report found that 20% of children had either stopped or reduced participation in sport due to the cost of living. A leisure card scheme would support these families and help to keep children involved in sport. Through increased participation, sports clubs will increase their funding.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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The broad outreach and everything else that is good about football in this country was brought home to me at the end-of-season matches in Kerry. The captain of our B team was from Tibet. Looking around at the three teams present, there were also Ukrainians and Nigerians. The most inclusive and welcoming sports clubs in the country are probably those that play football. It is the international game that reaches all the way down to the local level. The positivity and inclusivity were there to be seen locally.

We are at a crossroads in terms of investing in the game and facilitating its expansion. There is a significant lack of municipal facilities. Around the Continent, there is a place in nearly every square where someone can muck in and play football. There has been a considerable expansion in the women’s game. Significant investment is needed.

I welcome this Labour Party motion. I see from it that 55% of clubs do not own their own their facilities. When CLÁR funding was recently provided, it seemed to me that most of the clubs in Kerry that had applied did not get the funding they deserved for all the work they had been putting into their communities. The silver bullet is facilities. We need more funding for them at local and national levels.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute. I wish to declare an interest. My grandson is a rising star for the Corinthians football club in Cork, as indeed are all of the under-8s whom I had the pleasure of watching play recently.

Irish football is at a crossroads and the direction it takes will be influenced by the support it receives from the State. That is a fact. Irish football has suffered from chronic underinvestment by the State. It is not the only sport that has suffered, but it has suffered much more than most. The reason and motivation behind this are simple – it is about politics and class. In addition, football and many other sports were attacked to the point that they even struggled to fundraise to pay for their running and to get facilities. As Deputy Daly pointed out, facilities are the silver bullet. They are what is needed.

I make these historical points because they partly explain the current difficulties the sport faces in terms of facilities and structures. We are all aware of the past governance issues, but the FAI is heading in the right direction now. In any event, the sport and its participants should not suffer because a small group at the top transgressed.

The success of our underage national teams and, in particular, our senior women’s team, who will represent Ireland for the first time at the Women’s World Cup in a few weeks’ time, points to the positivity that exists in Irish football. I wish Diane Caldwell and the team all the best.

I will point to the hard work of our League of Ireland teams. Doubtless, there has been success on the pitch in their performance in European competitions, but we must also congratulate them on the work they do in their academies and off the pitch. It is not for nothing that crowd sizes have been increasing by 23% year on year.

Football is undoubtedly owed its fair share of funding relative to participation and numbers and to right the wrongs of historical underinvestment.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The recently published FAI master plan outlined the considerable investment that would be needed in grassroots football in the coming year. It identified that approximately €430 million was needed to bring grassroots football up to a decent standard. For decades, we have seen volunteers pour their hearts and souls into their local football clubs. Without them, many of our local football clubs would not exist.

In my area, many of our clubs have been fighting and campaigning for years for all-weather facilities. They have engaged with local councils and others, but to no avail. Come September, our local teams will have nowhere to train. We are on the eve of the women’s football team competing in their first world cup, yet we still have women and young girls changing in cars on the side of pitches and roads. This is shocking.

For its plan, the FAI surveyed clubs at grassroots level and found that 55% of them did not own their own facilities and 25% had leases of less than one year.

It is very difficult for the clubs to plan for their future when they are so worried about the present. For these reasons they are not even considered when it comes to funding. I support this motion and I hope the Government backs the FAI plan. It can only benefit our young people and our communities

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. Ireland is a sport-mad country. We are absolutely bonkers when it comes to sport. With regard to the FAI report, it is nice it has acknowledged that we need a bottom-up approach. Many people have mentioned women's sports in particular It is right that it is about proper facilities. It is also about being part of a community and strengthening communities. I welcome all those in the Gallery. I congratulate Mallow United. Deputy Sherlock listed everything out and saved me doing the research.

Recently I was at an event at my club in Midleton, which is 50 years old. It has more than 860 young children in the club. It is lucky to have a strong voluntary group. It is about getting local facilities. I remember a long time ago I played above in Home Farm against Drumcondra. I will not say the result because it was more like a hurling match than a soccer match. We did not come out favourably from it. There is a very good story in sport helping communities and what it gives back. I am very proud of having taken part in a soccer match in Cork City FC's grounds in Turners Cross that involved Munster rugby players, Cork hurlers and footballers and Cork City League of Ireland stars. It was for raising awareness of mental health. All the local sports give back and their community impact is unbelievable.

It would be very bad if I did not mention the upcoming Women's World Cup. It is an amazing achievement. I have never forgotten Italia 90. I am looking forward to this World Cup and I hope the women of Ireland will give us as much fun. I also hope the Government will not forget to extend the pub hours if the team does well so we can all celebrate it. I commend the motion and fully support it. I hope we will all work together in the right direction for this.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I want to speak about grassroots soccer, the League of Ireland and the publication at the beginning of June of the FAI's facility development strategy, which shows the association recognises the need for long-term investment and the development of Irish football. It comes at a time when we see most stadiums in the men's Premier Division selling out in advance of matches week in, week out. While this is enormously positive for League of Ireland clubs garnering unprecedented growing support, it also highlights the fact that grounds throughout the country are no longer fit for purpose. Facilities that enable clubs to grow and evolve while enabling the needs of communities are crucial, particularly as populations increase.

Drogheda United FC has as its chairperson Joanna Byrne, who is the first female chair of a League of Ireland club ever elected. Drogheda United FC, the Premier Division team of my home town, has seen a staggering 39% increase in attendances this season, which is the highest in the league by a mile. However, it cannot expand its capacity for supporters due to insufficient infrastructure. United Park might hold a strong place in the hearts of many supporters but it is outdated and in a state of disrepair. This is reflected nationwide. We need to see the Government work with the FAI, local authorities and sporting bodies planning effectively and ambitiously for Irish football. The Government needs to support the FAI to create the infrastructure that enables top participation in sport in this country to thrive. Additional funding from the Government is required to allow for the provision of proper infrastructural development of facilities and this is needed urgently.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. When I think of grassroots football, one of the first people that comes to my mind is Aidan Herlihy from Togher, or Gaffer as he is known to everyone. Gaffer is my stepson's coach at Pearse Celtic FC. He has given incredible service to grassroots football and the community in Togher. He set up a schoolboy section for the first time in Pearse Celtic. He set up Football for All in the club. Sadly, in the past week, Ann Herlihy, Gaffer's mam, died. She gave countless hours in support of Pearse Celtic, including washing football gear. Her son-in-law, Gary, her daughter, Lorraine, and her grandchildren are all involved. I thank the Herlihy family for services to the community and to say our thoughts are with them at this time.

People such as Gaffer and the Herlihy family are the very essence of grassroots football in the community. The goal and the focus is not glory or professional leagues, although they are important, but making sure young people and people generally have a chance to participate, to be active and to enjoy themselves and make a community stronger. The football population in Ireland cannot be equated with many of the facilities, especially for the women's game and at underage level. When I was a teenager playing with Everton AFC, we used to get changed in repurposed shipping containers. While progress has been made in many places, including in my community in Togher, unfortunately, there are still too many places where there are ramshackle facilities or no changing facilities.

Having to own their own premises is a serious obstacle to football clubs seeking sports capital grants. We need to look at the sports capital grants. I know local authorities can apply for municipal facilities but that is very much the local authority's decision. There needs to be some avenue for communities to be able to push the local authority to apply on their behalf. Attendances for the League of Ireland are very encouraging, reflecting the work that clubs have done. The fact is for far too long the league has been neglected and undervalued, including by the FAI. This needs to be a major focus for investment.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am under instruction to welcome Palmerstown FC on behalf of Deputies Mark Ward and Eoin Ó Broin. Other people were declaring an interest and I suppose I should declare at this stage that I still play badly at seven-a-side in the Gaels on a Monday night and occasionally on a Thursday. I also want to refute what I heard at a recent meeting. I thank the Labour Party but I must call out Deputy Nash because there was an implication he is a very good footballer and I refuse to believe it.

On some level there is agreement across the board. We welcome the work the FAI has done. We know we need facilities from top to bottom. My county has two teams. There is some team called Drogheda United and there is also Dundalk FC, which I wish the best in its game against the Magpies in Gibraltar on Thursday. I hope we can have an element of a European run but who knows.

In Dundalk there seems to be good news, and Deputy Fitzpatrick would be able to say more on the Louth GAA stadium and the plan coming to fruition. Oriel Park, United Park and many other grounds are not up to the standard they need to be.

11 o’clock

If we want soccer to be the industry it could be, there is a need to address the issues that have arisen for players since Brexit. It has created difficulties in the context of making it with teams in England.

We need to put all those pieces together. There is real interest and the numbers are up but, even in terms of sustainability or getting television stations interested, it has to be about facilities. We need local authorities, the large scale sport infrastructure fund and sports capital grants to be considered. An across-the board solution is needed. The likes of Woodview Celtic in Dundalk do not have grounds. This is about engagements that are happening across the board.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin and the Labour Party for tabling the motion. The Deputy's contribution showed his passionate for the subject. This is an interesting, timely and important motion.

I will lay out my stall. Football has meant the world to me. I benefited massively from its properties and I ardently want all others, young kids in particular but older people too, to have the same opportunities to play the game in a structured and safe environment surrounded by people who want them to do well, be that in the game or in life.

In speaking in support of the motion and the funding aspect that comes with it, which is important and substantial, I do not aspire for the conclusion of that to be having an amazing national team competing for trophies or even for the League of Ireland to continue to develop in the manner it undoubtedly has through the past decade. All that will come. I just want the State to facilitate all kids being able play football on fantastic and accessible pitches that are local to them, with changing rooms that afford dignity to all who play the game. I want all kids, regardless of their proficiency in the sport or the capacity of their parents to pay or to have time to do the drop-offs and pick-ups which often create great pressure, to be able to access the game. I want all those kids and young people to have great mentors and role models who are accredited to a high standard to coach them in the game they have chosen. Those roles can be careers or just how a person makes his or her contribution locally but all coaches should all have a minimum standard of certification enabled in collaboration with the FAI and the State. In so doing, we need to move a million miles from the ridiculous scenario that existed in the past in footballing circles, when children between the ages of ten and 13 were identified as being more or less talented than their peers and treated as such. With this investment, it should be mandated that all kids have the potential for greatness and that it will arrive in its own time and form. An investment such as the figure requested in the motion must be viewed as a societal investment that will undoubtedly benefit society first and football thereafter.

Many politicians or people who are getting a little older often talk about being the first in their families to go to college or university. I do so almost too regularly. By way of taking the legs out from under me, one of my three brothers will come forward to acknowledge that I am the only one in my family who has never represented the country at underage level. I recognise that one of the primary reasons I got that opportunity, and probably the reason I am here today speaking in our national Parliament, is how lucky I was to have been part of the footballing family that is Sheriff YC for more than 15 years. Stephen Dunleavy is in the Public Gallery representing the club, as his father, Brian, did for decades before him.

I had planned to speak about the Icelandic model, with which most Deputies present are familiar. Loosely, it is a national programme to confront substance misuse among young people. It had a profoundly positive effect socially and nationally on the game in Iceland. It was about investment in young people and giving them access to culture, sport and other truths as a way of lowering consumption and use. After what happened in Tallaght last night, however, when Shamrock Rovers were beaten by an Icelandic team, I have decided to move away from that completely in order not to cause offence. Rather, I will highlight the fact that there are clubs the length and breadth of the country that have been pursuing that model for decades, just without the aid of State support. The Icelandic model could equally be called the Sheriff YC model or the East Wall Bessborough FC model. I see Daniel in the Public Gallery, who is taking great strides in developing East Wall Bessborough, as his father, the late Geoff, did before him. He did amazing things for that club. John from Belvedere FC is in the Public Gallery, too. It could also be said of Finglas Celtic FC and Sacred Heart FC. These are young clubs in working class areas and they have been far more than football clubs to those who have benefited from being part of their teams. They have become quasi-counsellors. They step in to provide emotional support. They aid the parents of children who are stepping into difficulty. That is what football has done. It is a universal game that penetrates more than what happens between the lines on a Saturday morning. It is all-encompassing.

I hope colleagues will allow me to be a little indulgent and speak on my experience in that regard. I mentioned being part of Sheriff YC as a young person. I never would have got that opportunity when I was seven years of age if it was not for a coach named Liam Nolan, who must have been incredibly young at the time. He would finish his job down at the docks, walk up and collect me from my home in Summerhill, walk me back down to Sheriff Street and then walk me back home after training. It was because of the contribution the late Liam Nolan made that I was able to go on and get all the discipline that comes with being a part of a sporting club such as Sheriff YC. After that, I had coaches like Willo White, who welcomed me and others into his family. They were the first people to bring us on holidays and overseas. I had Paul Ryan, a great mentor and friend, as a coach. By God, if we showed up on a Saturday morning looking in any way glassy-eyed, Paul was the person of whom we were terrified. I got to play for the club for more than 12 years and during that time we had other great coaches and role models. Linda Gorman was inducted into the FAI hall of fame last year. They are the type of role models and mentors I experienced but I know other young people the length and breadth of the country have similar coaches, and it matters. It matters more than anything.

As regards facilities, I read the FAI report. It is a good and worthwhile vision for the future. It refers to having central hubs equivalent to St. George's Park in England, but it also refers to having local hubs. There is a vision from Belvedere and East Wall Bessborough, and from Sheriff YC separately on the other side of the pitch, for such a hub to be developed on the Alfie Byrne Road site, just outside my constituency of Dublin Central. Within the north inner city, which I am proud to represent, there is no 11-a-side football pitch. There has not been one there for a very long time. There is Grangegorman, which charges €190 a session to use its pitches. Every Saturday and Sunday morning and twice during the week, hundreds of kids gather with their families to play on a pitch on the Alfie Byrne Road site, near Clontarf, that is unsuitable and not accessible. Daniel Ennis often talks about a horrendous experience there a couple of months ago which motivates him. A person in a wheelchair showed up to watch his kid playing football but was not able to access the pitch because he could not drive the wheelchair through the grass. That is a horrendous state of affairs. I am happy to support this investment but the benefactors of it must be communities, clubs such as East Wall Bessborough, Belvedere and the families that show up every weekend to bring their kids to play football.

Football is a universal language. The Minister rightly pointed out there are other sports, and I appreciate that. However, if one thinks of the new communities that have come to Ireland in recent decades and from which we have benefited massively, every one of them speaks a singular language and that is football. There are other sports but they have more access to cultural capital that enable them to fill out the large forms that come with sporting infrastructure grants and sports capital grants. That is evidenced when one sees the facilities some rugby or hockey clubs have and compare them to the facilities football or boxing clubs have. It is very different. If we get football right, the benefits to society as a whole will be massive.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I apologise for being late. I was outside the gates of Leinster House at a protest on the cost of living. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this important motion.

I am very grateful to grassroots football for the role it played in my life, instilling certain discipline, experience and education about the importance of working together with others, team discipline, comradeship, being part of a community and just having fun and mixing with people from all sorts of background. I thank the many clubs I played for in Dún Laoghaire.

They are Cabinteely, which had only just started out then but which has gone on to much bigger and better things; St. Joseph's Boys, for whom I played for many years; Ballybrack FC; St. Joseph's Boys in Glasthule; Dunedin; and UCD. That is probably not the full list; there have been many clubs. I owe every single one of those clubs a great debt, particularly for what the unpaid volunteers did.

The number of volunteers outlined in the FAI report is just extraordinary, with 45,000 people registered as volunteers. These individuals are out working with young people for absolutely no personal gain. They are mostly inspired by the belief that if we do not give young people something positive to do, they can end up getting into trouble. However, if young people learn how to play football and engage in a positive team sport, that will stand to them for the rest of their lives. There is absolutely no doubt that is true. Setting aside that, we all think it is important that the Irish team or League of Ireland teams do well, and we celebrate the fact that some players may make it to higher levels of football in the English premiership, other English leagues or internationally. For what it does for every single young person who gets involved in grassroots football and for communities, there should be no end of thanks to all of those volunteers for what they do. They make a contribution, particularly to working class and disadvantaged communities, to the integration and cohesion of communities and to teaching people skills that will stand to them for the rest of their lives.

The problem is that successive Governments have failed to make the necessary investment. For every one of the teams I mentioned, and I could mention a few others, the question of facilities or lack of them has always been an issue. The lack of pitches, changing rooms, showers and financial resources has always been a major issue. It is even more so now when there is an absolute explosion of interest in grassroots soccer, certainly in my area. Others have testified to this. Obviously, the flourishing of women's and girl's soccer is absolutely extraordinary, but it is not even remotely closely matched with the level of support, investment, resources and facilities necessary to accommodate teams and ensure that they flourish and reach their capacity.

I will name-check a few clubs in my area in that regard. I recommend that the Minister watch "The Story of Pearse Rovers". Pearse Rovers Football Club was set up in the 1950s. The club is based in Sallynoggin, which is a working class area. Paul McGrath, one of our greatest footballers, started out with Pearse Rovers. To this day, the club has never had decent facilities. For years, it was literally operating out of a tin can in Sallynoggin Park. I got changed in there when playing against Pearse Rovers as a young person. The club is still fighting to have its own dedicated facility. It has raised all the necessary money. It is working with approximately ten other community and sports organisations that it is willing to share the facility with, but at every single turn there are difficulties. There is always a problem. There is a blockage rather than a proactive effort to support and resource it. There is always a reason things cannot be done. That is just not on. I ask that we start to have a proactive response. As well as what it does in football, Pearse Rovers recently raised money for someone in the community who had a bad brain injury and who had family members on the team. Pearse Rovers holds mental health days four or five times a year. It contributes to the community at so many levels.

Another team I visited recently is Granada Football Club in the Blackrock area. Granada has gone from having 500 boys and girls five years ago to 1,300 boys and girls now. It has dedicated teams for kids with disabilities and for those with dyspraxia and autism. It used to have three mixed teams; it now has 20 girls' teams. As we speak, it does not have a pitch for the coming season. The club has some pitches that are being redone, and it welcomes that. For the next 18 months, however, while those pitches are being redone, it has to beg, borrow, and steal pitch space from other clubs that do not really have it. This is because there are not enough pitches. This is a problem that is replicated with club after club.

Park Celtic Football Club in Cabinteely is another team that does not have changing rooms that can facilitate girls. Carriglea Football Club in Monkstown Farm has a lack of pitches, facilities and resources. I could go on through the list. Before I came to this debate, I looked at a comparison of expenditure on sport generally in Ireland versus countries in the rest of Europe. We are at the bottom of the league table by a considerable margin in terms of the amount of resources we put in to sport. Undoubtedly soccer is one of the poor relations. I could also mention amateur boxing in that regard. There is a connection between the most poorly-resources often being the ones that are in working class, and disadvantaged communities. We have to address that. How can we expect football to thrive at the higher level if we do not nourish, feed, resource and facilitate the grassroots, particularly where there is an explosion of interest on the part of girls, boys, men and women in these sports? There is enormous potential but the State must come up to the mark in terms of providing the necessary resources. In budget 2023, the Government cut the amount of money going into sport by approximately €10 million, reducing it from €181 million to €174 million.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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They were Covid-19 supports.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We need to invest.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We now move to the Regional Group and Deputy Lowry. The Deputy has eight minutes.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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Funding for all forms of sport is wise and represents a fruitful investment. Helping to nurture a love of sport is a gift that will keep on giving, especially for our young people. Ireland is a nation of sports lovers. From our cities to our villages and our crossroads, there will always be those who mentor players, those who love to run clubs and maintain facilities, and of course those who love to actively participate in sport. Sport brings communities together. It builds and strengthens them. Sport of any kind is a leveller because it connects people from all backgrounds and unites them in a shared aim. For generations, the majority of Irish people have been sports fanatics. Team colours are worn with pride. Flags are flown outside homes and businesses. The joys and misfortunes of games are debated at every opportunity. Successes are celebrated like the Second Coming, while a bad day is dissected and lamented endlessly. Either way, the passion for sport ignites people's minds and builds lifelong bonds and friendships with fellow players and supporters.

While our passion for the GAA will always hold a huge place in Irish hearts, there has also been a spiralling love of football, so much so that it has become the number one participation team sport in the country according to Sport Ireland. Football has become so popular among Irish people that, similar to the GAA, it now boasts clubs in every corner of the country. Ireland has an ever-growing reputation for producing exceptionally talented players. Legions of supporters are devoted to the game. Statistics have shown that approximately 16% of Irish people play and watch football in Ireland, while 3.5 million young people aged over 16 play football at least once per week. On any given evening, across my constituency of Tipperary and in every part of the country, we will find people engaged in some aspect of sport. These sporting activities generate revenue both locally and nationally. Sporting events attract supporters who spend money that supports businesses, creates jobs, and stimulates the economy both locally and nationally. Pre-pandemic figures show that sports-related spending contributed €3.7 billion in value, which is added value, to the economy.

That is the equivalent of 1.4% of GDP. What these figures do not show are the economic savings that result from people's participation in sport.

The greatest benefit of sport is its positive impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of those involved. This, in turn, significantly reduces the burden on our health system. Whatever people's chosen sport may be, their participation is to be welcomed, applauded and, above all, encouraged. Sports encourage people to reach their fitness goals and maintain a healthy weight while also encouraging the making of health decisions, such as decisions not to smoke, drink or engage in substance abuse. Sport provides excellent mental health benefits, such as greater confidence, and improves social and personal skills, including co-operation and leadership. This can have a positive, protective influence on a young person's life by preventing boredom and isolation, while at the same time creating greater self-awareness and self-confidence through the positive social interaction that sports allow for.

This motion calls for an increase in funding for the FAI. It requests an improvement in all sections from grassroots clubs to League of Ireland clubs and international teams. Right across Tipperary, there are local clubs that cater for players of all ages, and they would enthusiastically welcome additional funding. A funding increase should be directed primarily at this local level. It should be spent on providing coaching and facilities for the youth and incorporated to a greater extent into our schools. This is the level that will ultimately benefit most from involvement in football. It will lay the groundwork for the future.

We must support football. It needs hard cash to develop and achieve its potential. It is essential for us to provide facilities and equipment. We need to modernise the small clubs across Tipperary and the rest of the country. I have supported and assisted many clubs across Tipperary. Much more needs to be done.

The FAI has a strong case that stands on its merit but it is a mistake for it to criticise the racing fund and seek to divert part of it. The FAI case for funding is a stand-alone one. I support the principle of Exchequer funding to build, grow and develop football, release the potential that exists and guide the sport through a successful and cost-effective future.

Investment in sport yields a dividend in cash returned to the Exchequer and in many other ways. A perfect example is the investment in the bloodstock industry. For decades, strong Government support ensured we could build a fledgling racing industry into a world leader in racing and bloodstock. That industry continues to grow and is worth €2.5 billion to the Irish economy. In excess of 30,000 jobs were supported by the racing and breeding industry in 2022. These jobs are mostly rural and provide vital economic activity in towns and villages throughout the country. This means that for every euro of Government support in 2022, the racing and breeding industry returned €35 to the Irish economy, €17 of which was from the core industry. More than €500 million in annual expenditure on racing and breeding is from foreign direct investment. That investment would not be sustained if investors did not have the confidence to invest in an industry that has Government support. Ireland competes for investment in a highly competitive international bloodstock market. Every other racing jurisdiction Ireland competes with is funded directly or indirectly by its government. Therefore, I support the motion wholeheartedly. Investment in football and other sports is wise. It pays a dividend and we should continue to do it.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I welcome David Hall and Michael Burgoyne from the west Cork schoolboys' and schoolgirls' leagues, who made the journey up from west Cork today to the Gallery for the debate. West Cork boasts an ever-increasing footballing population, with a current active player register of 3,000, from under eight to adulthood. In recent years, the league has gone from strength to strength in terms of participation and success. Its academy recently achieved third place in the SFAI's most prestigious annual competition. To put this into perspective, it draws on a pool of 200 players, of whom 10%, or 20 players, enter and represent the league in competition. The area has to compete with large urban centres such as Cork, Dublin and Waterford, which have thousands of players to choose from and enjoy facilities that west Cork can only dream of. Furthermore, the larger clubs receive significant financial support. Despite the odds, those in west Cork have gone from being ranked last in the country, at 30th, to third, as well as winning several national and regional titles in various age categories.

It has been disconcerting and disheartening to see a distinct lack of recognition of the efforts of the boys and girls of west Cork in the west Cork schoolboys' and schoolgirls' leagues. West Cork's grassroots leagues and clubs are strategically very well placed to really benefit from multi-agency funding and the mix of funding sought as part of the FAI facilities strategy countywide. Collaboration would help them to deliver some legacy projects that would support continued growth and cater for the exponential growth in participation in the game of football. It would also serve to meet the wider health, wellbeing and social development of west Cork.

I pay tribute to the many players, parents and volunteers who help train soccer teams the length and breadth of west Cork, from Bandon and Kinsale to Mizen AFC. It would be remiss of me in my last few seconds not to pay tribute to one of the finest trainers and youth development workers of Bunratty United AFC, Martin Briscoe, who passed away several years ago. He put so much time and effort into volunteering at the club and into west Cork soccer. It is people like him who have promoted the game of soccer and made it what it is. Of course, he and I had a very close affiliation because we both supported the great soccer club Arsenal.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to have the opportunity to support this Labour Party motion. It is very important because we all know that sport is so important in developing youth and bringing communities together.

For many years, Gaelic football and hurling were the dominant games in Kerry but soccer is now coming forth. We are glad to see Kerry FC, which is now in the League of Ireland, doing very well this year. It needs financial support to ensure it develops further. We are glad the Kerry ladies will have an under-17 team starting out in next year's League of Ireland competition. This is very good for youngsters. The ladies aspect is progressing very much and we must ensure we help them financially. Every euro spent on sport is money well spent because once you keep youth occupied and active, it helps them in many ways. It helps their health, including their mental health, and they gain friends they would not meet if they were not involved.

A big problem for soccer and football clubs starting out concerns the ownership of fields and property. They cannot get any grants if they do not have a field or property of their own. This needs to be examined to ensure they can get funding to start out or help them to buy places.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that the Kerry team is playing Derry next Sunday. I wish the players well. They are doing very well and we wish them further success. The big problem is the paywall that has been put up by the GAA and RTÉ, preventing people who cannot travel to it from seeing the match.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy should stick to the topic. His time is up.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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That must be looked at and rectified.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I thank the movers of this very good motion. I take the opportunity to wish good luck to the mná of the Republic of Ireland football squad who have flown out to Australia for the country's first ever appearance in the FIFA Women's World Cup. I wish them good success and enjoyment.

The FAI's newly published strategic analysis and vision for the next 15 years details that the association requires €862 million to modernise facilities and standards. Goodness knows I want to see that happening in all clubs. We have some great clubs in Tipperary and great organisers such as Richard Power of the Tipperary Southern and District League and Ned O'Connor, a former county manager, who did great work with John Delaney, let us face it, Denis Lehane and others. These people went into schools and organised the sport. We are playing a catch-up game. We have clubs like St. Michael's AFC in Tipperary town, which is world-renowned. Cahir Park is 105 or 106 years old and has fabulous facilities. We have Clonmel Town FC and Cashel Town FC. In the rural areas, there is Burncourt Celtic and Fr. Sheehy's GAA. There are many clubs that do tremendous work with nothing. I salute the men and women who support the clubs and teams. They are the real movers.

Audits carried out of each county's pitches have shown that almost 40% of them have temporary dressing rooms or toilets. For more than 20% of clubs, their spend on pitch maintenance falls below €1,000. Old Bridge FC is a another Clonmel club, which is having huge trouble with trespass, with animals breaking in and everything else. The EU average expenditure on sport is 0.8% of GDP, whereas Ireland's figure is 0.4%. We are in bad company with Malta and Bulgaria at the bottom of the spending league. It is very sad.

Sport, whether hurling, football, rugby, soccer, ladies' football or anything else, gives young people a great outlet. It helps with character formation and enables them to go on to be hugely successful. Tom Finnan of St. Michael's FC in Tipperary town is one of many people who have done fabulous work to which they have dedicated their life. I take this opportunity to extend my sympathy to John Delaney, who lost his father recently and his mother only a short time ago.

Governance ran amok and not only in the FAI, as we have seen. Ordinary people must be supported. Ní neart go cur le chéile. We must support the clubs at ground level and the people who are driving this and who have the vision and passion to achieve for Ireland and for all the individuals involved. You would never see the likes of such bonding. The people involved also do a huge amount of fundraising for charities.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. I support the motion and its call for the Government to give its backing to the FAI report on facility investment with a comprehensive State-backed investment programme, its call for a review of the sports capital and equipment programme grant and its call to address gender equality access issues within football.

There is no doubt there has been underinvestment in soccer in this country. This, coupled with poor leadership, has made it hard for clubs and players to develop. An example is Finn Harps FC in Donegal, which has been trying for years to get approval for funding for a new stadium in Ballybofey.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The funding has been approved.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I am glad to hear it. The club has been waiting a long time. The completion of a new stadium, finally, is vitally important to ensure football can continue as best it can in the club.

Despite underinvestment, we have managed to produce many brilliant soccer players, such as Séamus Coleman from my hometown of Killybegs. However, these players are forced to move abroad to further their careers in football. It is obvious that Ireland's football facilities have fallen behind those of our European counterparts. Some 55% of clubs in Ireland do not own their facilities and must rely on leases, which makes it very difficult for clubs to develop. It is clear there are not enough facilities to cater for everyone. The first to miss out are women and girls. We need to address the lack of pitches, including all-weather pitches. Clubs like St. Catherine's FC in Killybegs provide football for boys and girls of all ages from Glencolmcille to Portnoo. There are far too many teams relying on just one pitch that often gets waterlogged and must be closed for repairs. This also causes issues with funding, with many teams in the one area in search of funding from a small pool of people and businesses. In the case of my club, St. Catherine's FC, the pitch has continually had to be closed for repairs, which means the club has to go looking for alternative pitches on which the young people can play. It is just not acceptable at this stage.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to secure sponsorship, on which clubs heavily rely. It is completely unacceptable that 38% of clubs are not able to offer female toilets. We have seen a surge of interest in the Irish team, whose members will compete in the Women's World Cup this summer. It is the first time Ireland has reached the competition, which is fantastic to see. We need to make sure girls and women are given the appropriate facilities and opportunities to be able to develop as players in Ireland. Irish player Amber Barrett, another fantastic footballer from Donegal, believes an important issue to address is the drop-off of interest in sport among teenage girls. We must ensure there is full media coverage of women's games. I hope the Women's World Cup will be covered to the same extent as is the men's competition. Amber Barrett has stated: "When something is on TV, we all take notice, so recognising the need for women's sport to be more visible has really helped". She went on to say: "[T]he more success we see in women's sport, and the more female coaches involved, the more it will improve."

I am glad this motion addresses some of the gender equality issues. However, an issue it overlooks is disability access. We should be doing all we can to make football and other sports are far more accessible for the disabled community. At the moment, facilities and pitches are not suitable for those with disabilities. This is a real shame. I welcome that the FAI now has five full-time staff with responsibility for facilitating a clear pathway to cater for players with various disabilities, as provided for under the Football For All programme. However, far more is needed, particularly in rural communities. Looking at the Football For All clubs map, one sees that most of the midlands and north-west soccer clubs are left out of the programme. There are only two clubs in Donegal that facilitate Football For All, namely, Buncrana Hearts FC and Letterkenny Rovers FC. The latter is located more than 70 km from Killybegs. This leaves out the entire disabled community in south-west Donegal. Northern Ireland seems to be addressing the needs of its disabled community far better than we are through its Disability Football development strategy. This may be another of many reasons we should be pushing for an all-island league. We can learn from what is being done in Northern Ireland. We need to ensure better opportunities for our rural and disabled communities. I urge the Government to give consideration to that for the future.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I pay tribute to the Labour Party for tabling this motion. I pay particular tribute to Deputy Ó Ríordáin for his obvious passion in this debate and his genuine interest in soccer. He gave a fantastic speech this morning with which people on this side of the House would not disagree. I pay tribute to everybody who took part in the debate and the visitors in the Public Gallery.

The value of football certainly is not lost on me. My father played with Drogheda United in the League of Ireland and was subsequently player-manager at the club. I am very proud of that connection and I am a regular visitor to United Park. My appreciation for football stems from my upbringing. I would not say my father chose football over Gaelic sports but he certainly was put in that direction through one thing or another.

In her earlier remarks, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, covered many aspects of the motion. I will talk about investment in sport infrastructure generally and, specifically, how we can help football clubs to improve their facilities. The sports capital programme is the primary vehicle to get funding into clubs for capital improvements. We launched a new round today, which will open for applications from next Monday, 17 July. Since 1998, more than €1 billion in funding has been given under the programme. I am really keen for football clubs to apply for the scheme. It is a fact that the ask from Gaelic sports in recent years was much greater than that from football clubs. Various reasons for this have been outlined by speakers, with some suggesting capacity is an issue. If that is so, we have asked the FAI to address it and, in addition, the Department is willing to help clubs with applications, as are Deputies on all sides of the House.

Another factor is that in some quarters in the FAI, there was an attitude of it dealing with it; that there was no need to go to the Government. I am glad to say that attitude has changed. I probably have engaged with the FAI more than I have with any other organisation in regard to the upcoming sports capital programme. It is no coincidence that between the Minister and me, we had two football teams photographed at the launch yesterday, namely, Dunshaughlin Youths FC and Rosemount Mulvey FC from the Minister's constituency.

We have had a lot of engagement with the FAI. Indeed, we also had a boxer, Aoife O'Rourke, with us. I am having an engagement with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association today. It has been suggested that there is some kind of class issue. I am engaging with the boxing authorities about this today as well to make sure that those clubs are equipped and capable of applying for sports capital grants, because that is really important.

Under the last round of sports capital grants, soccer projects received €25 million. That is up from €6.6 million in the previous round. Every single valid soccer application was successful in the most recent round and I would love it if that continued. I cannot promise any club or any sport that it will happen again this time but we will certainly discuss the matter with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, when the applications come in. The reality is that more soccer clubs applied this time and that is why they benefited from the scheme. I want to see that continue.

We do not ring-fence money for particular sports. As a Minister of State, I have responsibility for sport rather than for any particular sport and I certainly want to be as fair as possible in this regard. We have reviewed the sports capital programme. That review is published and out there. We have also published the guide. There are a number of new features to this round of the sports capital programme. The top priority under the sports capital programme is disadvantage. That is the top priority so the programme is weighted towards disadvantaged communities and areas. It always has been and always will be. There are a number of other features to the programme this year. We have told national governing bodies that there will significant funding cuts if they do not achieve 40% gender representation on their boards. That will have to be done if these bodies want to draw down funds from the sports capital programme. To be fair, while the FAI is not there yet - neither are the governing bodies of the other four or five major sports - it is getting there. I note that the FAI recently appointed Maeve McMahon to its board and I believe it is on track to reach the 40% by the end of the year. It has to do so, as do the bodies governing rugby, boxing and the GAA. We will be publishing an update on that soon. I have also said that under no circumstances will capital funding be provided unless the applicant body confirms it is in compliance with the Equal Status Act. There is also an additional requirement for all applicant bodies to provide access to facilities for men and women on similar terms. That is a radical new change we have made to the sports capital programme. To be quite honest, I think most football clubs are in the happy position that they already do so. This will advantage football.

The scheme will be open for applications from 17 July to 8 September and we want to see as many projects funded as possible. The application form is quite user-friendly and officials in the Department are always available to take phone calls from clubs or Members of the Oireachtas regarding the sports capital programme. They have a reputation for that.

On some of the large-scale projects, Finn Harps was mentioned. That is a complicated project that has been around for many years but I gave final approval from the Department on 8 June 2023. It is with the Chief State Solicitor's Office to tie up some legal loose ends but, as far as the Department is concerned, the approval is done. We look forward to the project. I was at the ladies' game in Tallaght Stadium. That stadium has been the beneficiary of significant funding under the sports capital programme. Through the urban regeneration and development fund, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien's has also put significant funding into that stadium. You can see on the new stand that development was supported by Project Ireland 2040. That is real investment. Unfortunately, when Shamrock Rovers came to Drogheda on Friday night, they were not able to put that investment into securing a win against Drogheda FC.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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It will be next door to us.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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We also have the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I will be publishing a review of that fund soon and I hope to announce a new call under it at some point this year. We have written to all applicants regarding potentially offering a small amount of extra funding because we recognise that some projects have been delayed for various reasons. To be honest, there was a project I was trying to activate in Glanmire in County Cork but the FAI announced that it was not able to do it. We have asked it for urgent proposals on an alternative. We are very anxious for that to happen. There could well be extra funding for that depending on what comes back. We want to see that funding delivered. The Bohemians facility at Dalymount has also received planning funding. I hope that can be continued in the future.

This debate is about the FAI's vision and strategy for investment, which was published last month. I met with the association about the strategy, as I indicated. The level of Government funding the FAI is proposing is ambitious. It is at the same level as the entire sports capital budget. I do not blame the association for being ambitious. The Government is strongly committed to sustained investment in necessary facilities for all sports. In the longer term, the appropriate level of sustained investment needed to meet the needs of a growing population and to support increased levels of participation by people of all ages at all levels is a matter we are considering. The FAI strategy is a very useful input into that. Government investment in sport is money well spent. There are loads of examples of such investment working to benefit communities. I am working really hard to ensure that clubs look for the money. In my area, I have seen the GAA getting funding when soccer did not. People nearly blame me for this but, when I look into it, some clubs just did not apply. The last time, every valid application from a soccer club got funding so I am really keen for all clubs, not just those in my local area that did not apply the last time but all clubs across the country, to apply because we want to see facilities develop.

I take the point about pitch space and so on. That is a serious issue all over the country, especially in Dublin and suburban areas such as my own. Sport Ireland is conducting and has nearly finished an audit of sports facilities. This is a fantastic project that it has undertaken. On the one hand, there is a public-facing aspect. It will be a guide to local facilities, including walking trails and so on, across the country. On the other hand, at the back end, it will give really good information to central government as to what is there and what is missing. It will be possible to match this data with information from the census, Pobal and so on. That is a really useful project that Sport Ireland is in the process of completing. We will continue with that. That national digital database is a very exciting project.

I will go through some of the other issues that were raised. Deputy Paul Donnelly mentioned a really good example in Porterstown in west Dublin. It is a fantastic football and athletics facility funded by the sports capital programme. There are examples of funding working well. I will say to Deputy Munster - Deputy Nash will also know this as he has almost met the club - that I have met with Drogheda United about its plans for the future. It would like to get a better facility, if it can. I will not go into detail here but I have said that I am here to help it to do that, just as I am available to Meath GAA with regard to Páirc Tailteann. An application was made to the large-scale sports infrastructure fund in respect of Páirc Tailteann a number of years ago and a lot more applicants were successful in that programme. We want to change that. A new round of funding under that fund is upcoming. We are not going to oppose this motion.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I will start by paying tribute to our colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, for his immense passion and his immense and long-standing commitment to the game of football and for the incredible eloquence of his "Football is Ireland" speech earlier, which everyone has commended. I thank colleagues across the House for supporting the motion. I welcome those joining us in the Gallery from local clubs and our great international players, Niall Quinn, Paddy Mulligan and Turlough O'Connor. I thank the members of my local teams who joined us outside, particularly the great players Millie, Zoe, Rose and Matilda from Harold's Cross Youth Football Club and Councillor Fiona Connelly and the team from Larkview FC in Kimmage. It was wonderful to see so many outside with us earlier for our Labour Party motion. I will also mention a club in my local area that would have loved to attend and that has sent strong support and expressed to me its frustration at the lack of resources for pitches and so on. The team, Belmont FC in Donnybrook, cannot be here today. Very sadly, many of its members are attending this morning's funeral in Donnybrook church of Andrew O'Donnell, one of the two young men, along with Max Wall, who tragically died in Ios so recently. I attended Max Wall's funeral on Monday. I again extend my sympathies and condolences to his family and to the family of Andrew O'Donnell, whose funeral is today. They are an immense loss to their communities and their families and friends.

There are few sports that are so capable of lifting communities as football. We have seen that expression of support for soccer across the House. Many of us are old enough to remember the excitement of Italia '90. I know we are all hopeful and optimistic that our wonderful women's team is going to capture the spirit of a nation again and lift our spirits in Australia and perhaps even in New Zealand over the coming months as they play in the FIFA Women's World Cup. We also know how much football helps to bond communities at local level. I have mentioned some of our local clubs in Dublin Bay South but there are so many great clubs, including Cambridge FC and St. Patrick's YFC in Ringsend and Irishtown, Lourdes Celtic FC in Kimmage, Terenure Rangers and Beechwood FC, to name just some.

These clubs are really helping to bond groups within communities, and to lift health and morale among children in particular.

However, I want to say that for far too long girls' football has been the poor relation. While football has been a poor relation politically among sports in Ireland, unfortunately, we have seen girls' football in particular really disadvantaged. I am someone who is passionate about bringing girls forward through football. I have worked for many years at local level through Larkview FC, and before that Inchicore Athletic FC girls, to bring up girls' football. We have seen that significant barriers remain to girls' and women's participation at equal level in sport. We had Lisa Fallon speaking passionately to us recently at an Oireachtas briefing about just how difficult it is for so many girls to participate fully in sport, particularly with the lack of facilities. We know from the FAI's report that 38% of clubs do not have women's toilets, and I want to commend the FAI on putting forward a very strong 15-year strategy that looks to grow the sport at local grassroots level and at League of Ireland and international levels. I agree with its strong emphasis on developing facilities, and ensuring that there are equal changing facilities or women and girls.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne's announcement, with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin at Farmleigh last week, of the additional funding for women's sport to bring forward women's coaching, player development, but we need to see that investment in facilities as well. We will certainly be continuing to press for that.

We also want to see stronger support programmes for players, including centralised contracts for young women and men. We are all mindful that it is only six years since the women's international team had to strike to get decent facilities. I was chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality and we made recommendations about making sports funding conditional on gender equality measures. Again, I very much welcome the Minister of State's announcement on sports capital funding. That is very important, but we need to ensure football is accessible to all, including children with disabilities, and LGBT children and adults. We need to see football moving to tackle racism and homophobia, and to see football being inclusive for all, with the development of all-weather pitches so everyone in every community can play. I know that is the vision we all share.

The time has come for football. We are glad that the Government has not opposed our motion, but the campaign does not stop here. We in the Labour Party will continue to work to realise that ambition for Ireland to develop one of the best women's and men's leagues in the world, to make football fully accessible to all, and to break down the barriers that still hinder the participation of women and girls in the beautiful game. I want to end by wishing Vera Pauw's army the very best, the wonderful Abbie Larkin from Ringsend, Katie McCabe, and all the players on our team. We will be rooting for them in the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The two things that define me are my football and my class. They are linked inextricably. One of my very first memories is of Northern Ireland playing Spain in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. I was playing football on the street in Newfield, an estate the Minister of State would be familiar with, and I remember being called in to watch a hugely-anticipated match. I drank that match in with two very close friends, with whom I grew up sharing a love of playing football. Twenty years later, one of those lads played for Ireland at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ian Harte, who won 64 caps for Ireland and was a UEFA Champions League semi-finalist. As the Minister of State knows, his brother Michael went on to have a stellar League of Ireland career. Sadly, I did not.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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We both played against them.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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My point is this: football fills us with hope. It fills us with dreams. It allows us to think big things for ourselves and for our communities. My colleague, Deputy Aodhán Ó Riordáin, articulated so eloquently earlier on the place of football in our society and history, which has often been derided, scorned and sneered at through our State's history. Nothing that he said was wrong. For example, I played at the highest level of underage and youth football. Our Drogheda team was consistently in the top eight teams in the country, yet our Christian Brothers school, on the north side of Drogheda, denied us the chance to bring football success to our school by refusing to establish our own team in our own school. That did not happen until a lay principal took over and that was after we left. In fact, it was after we won a Leinster GAA title. The deal was that if we won a Leinster GAA title, the school would provide us with the capacity to set up a football team but we were denied that.

Thankfully in those 30 years, attitudes have changed radically. Ireland has changed, and our national policy approach to football must change too. Yesterday, the Labour Party met privately with senior FAI officials. It was a day, of course, when a phalanx of photographers gathered outside the gates. I mused that thankfully, and for a change, they were not there to snap FAI officials coming in, in crisis, to face the music before a committee in Leinster House. There is no need to have a recital of the FAI's crisis years here today. We are all too well aware of what happened. The new FAI team, and indeed the support received from Government to stabilise and reform the association, deserves great credit. We have now moved on from a permacrisis to a situation where our game has a world of opportunities opening up before us. We are at an inflection point, when we can finally talk less about the history of Irish football and more about the future of our game in this country.

From a funding and political point of view, we need the Government and the political system more generally to move away from "olé, olé, olé" to "okay, okay, okay" when it comes to backing our ambitions for our game. The FAI, as has been acknowledged across this House today, has got its collective act together, and it is now time that the system responds.

This has been a very good day for football and a good day for politics and for those who are watching in. It can be an historic day as well, and it is an historic day when we have got some high-profile senior football correspondents in the press gallery in Leinster House. That is very welcome indeed.

When we speak of the funding of football, which the Minister of State did earlier on, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the reality is that the sports capital grant system is not a panacea with regard to the kind of investment we need in our game. The kind of sustained investment needed to help fund the FAI plan and beyond frankly goes beyond the allocation that any Government would be prepared to make through a general sports capital grant allocation, and indeed the scope of the programme. I say this not because of any necessarily in-built obstacles for clubs that may be interested in applying, although we know there are obstacles there, like land ownership, lease agreements and so on. Given the historic and sustained underinvestment in our game, the need for a football infrastructure development programme is very obvious for all of us to see.

The FAI plan itself, which we have referred to repeatedly today, is not necessarily all that ambitious. It is important that we remember that it is simply designed to bring us up to what we might consider to be European Union norms and standards.

I am delighted to welcome here representatives of my club, Drogheda United Football Club. I am from a county that is lucky to have two League of Ireland Premier Division clubs. I also welcome representatives of Castletown Belles FC, a girls' team in Dundalk. Those two clubs really represent a microcosm of where we are at in football today. What we need over the next few years, for example, is a commitment to the Castletown Belles girls, and other girls playing football in Louth and across the country. They will be watching the FIFA Women's World Cup this month, and they have got the same ambitions to represent this country at the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup. Let us give them the dignity of the dressing rooms they do not have. Let us make sure that we learn from the mistakes of the past, and make sure that we learn the lessons of the past, and make sure the stadium development is not exclusively developer-led, although Drogheda United is, thankfully, close to welcoming some significant investment in the club. As the Minister of State knows, as a Drogheda United supporter himself and with his family history in the club, that cannot be allowed to happen, because we have paid the price for that before.

I welcome the fact the Government is not opposing this motion. We need to build a consensus on football and the funding of football across this House, and if we can do that, it would be a good thing for this House and for the game that we all care so passionately about.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is it not great to have unanimity every now and again?

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Sport brings us together. We should have a few more debates on sport.