Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The capital spend is up by €15 million. It is worth bearing in mind that, while the increase in the sports budget this year is great, it is a fraction of what was spent in the good days when money was going to the development of Croke Park and Aviva, good investments at the time by the then Government. The sports capital budget is €23 million a year which is split between the sports campus, national facilities and projects for clubs and sporting bodies.

The national lottery funding is a misnomer in my view. What really happens is that the national lottery pays money to the Exchequer each year which is treated more as less as another income stream. It might as well be the property tax or something else. The legislation ring-fences moneys from the national lottery for arts, culture and sport or any other purpose as the Government may decide.