Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for coming to the committee. I have a few observations. League of Ireland is a fantastic product. It is doing well and the crowds are fantastic. The Minister mentioned quality public service broadcasting. The number of hours League of Ireland games are televised is minimal in the context of the hours of sport produced by RTÉ and there are the likes of Real Madrid, Man United, etc. RTÉ should focus on League of Ireland football because it is a great product. Now is the perfect time to start promoting and televising League of Ireland football. That is more of an observation. I know the Minister is a strong League of Ireland supporter.

On the FAI, the Minister mentioned gender quotas. I think everybody supports the 40%. Penalising clubs if they do not meet the quotas was mentioned. Has the Minister looked at another mechanism by which the board or organisation would be penalised, rather than small clubs already hard-pressed to deliver facilities? Next year, the funds clubs can access if they do not meet the quota may be reduced. If it is only 50%, most of those projects will not go ahead. That would be damaging for many groups and clubs. Has the Minister looked at another method, penalising the FAI higher up the ranks rather than ordinary League of Ireland clubs? If she was a betting Minister, what would she say the chances are of some resolution on that 40% being reached by the end of the year? It seems quite worrying that small clubs will be impacted negatively.

SIPTU wrote to the Minister requesting a meeting on various issues within the FAI. Has the Minister agreed to meet it? On sports capital, €9 million is very welcome given the cost-of-living crisis and building inflation, as is the reform of multi-sport facilities. A number of smaller clubs told me they do not have professionals on their committees or involved in their clubs. Has the Minister ever looked at developing tiers or pots? Smaller clubs see themselves as competing with universities, local authorities or schools. They all have a professional element so the process is a lot easier for them than a small club that does not have resources and is struggling. I am aware that clubs struggle with the application. Will the Minister consider pots and a slimmed-down application for smaller, less professional clubs?

There was underspending in the local authority swimming programme; I think it went from €4 million to €2 million, meaning €2 million was reallocated. Where did that €2 million go? The Minister may have answered that already. Is the Minister not concerned? The number of swimming pools has not increased - it has been pretty static over the past few years - yet swimming is hugely popular. There is huge demand for swimming and there are a lot of positives about it. The Merrion Hotel got a grant for its swimming pool. It is across the road, in the heart of my constituency. It does not allow the public, local communities or children to use the pool. Are local authorities looking at privatising the delivery of swimming pools? Will local councils still do it? With the €2 million reduction in swimming pool funding, it now seems quite low. It is quite a big reduction in the context of the need and demand for swimming pools.