Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. I extend a very warm welcome to Mya Doocey and Mia Galligan from the Mercy Secondary School in Navan. It was my honour to have met both of the students when they presented their project at the BT Young Scientist and Technology awards, where they received a commendation for their work and research. It is research that is hugely important on the very theme we are opening on here today. We are opening these thematic discussions on inclusion in sport and we will soon hear from groups representing disability and gender. We will hear from the main pillar sports next week. It is a fantastic moment for this Oireachtas committee on sport that we have two young students who are breaking down barriers on what were possibly taboo subjects in the past but that are very important to young female athletes.

On a personal level, of course, both girls are from Navan. Unfortunately, they play for Simonstown Gaels as opposed to Navan O'Mahony's, but we will not hold that against them. They are two fine athletes in their own right, two fine footballers, and, indeed, Mya represented Ireland as a cyclist in the Youth Olympics last year. They are two fine ambassadors for our town and our country.

I refer to their opening statement, in particular the point that young men do not face the same challenges as women due to the period. I was reflecting on an article that looked back on last year’s European Championships, when the British sporting athlete, Dina Asher-Smith, pulled up in the 100 m final because of cramps. She later revealed they were a symptom of her period and she shared her frustration at its impact on her sport. She made the point that if it were a men's issue, it would have been fixed by now. It was something then shared by the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, who made the point that athletes deserve greater understanding of the array of symptoms that can crop up. Ms Galligan and Ms Doocey talk about this as being a subject that needs to be discussed. Prior to conducting this work, did they feel it was discussed enough or that it was even discussed at all, whether in their own peer group, among their fellow students or in the media?