Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Mulvey for his presentation. I wish him well in his new position, it will be an exciting role. I agree with Deputy Ellis that it is good of Mr. Mulvey to come before the committee and be so honest with us. Such honesty is needed within sport and across all bodies.

Mr. Mulvey referred to female participation in sport. Women's Gaelic football is one of the fastest-growing female sports in Ireland. However, there is a disconnect between the two organisations - the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the GAA - involved in its administration. People may not realise there are two associations and I will give an example. A new state of the art centre of excellence opened in Meath last month. It has fantastic football grounds, sporting facilities and a dedicated sports building. There was a big event with minor sports and junior sporting activities happening all day. However, I left half way through the event because 15 km away in Navan, the intermediate junior and senior ladies Gaelic football finals were taking place. One would imagine that steps would have been taken to ensure those two events did not take place on the same day. There seems to be a breakdown and I do not know if one could place blame with one organisation. Does Mr. Mulvey feel that something could be done in that kind of situation? Mr. Mulvey referred to the hundreds of millions of euro invested in sporting facilities and the GAA would be one of the beneficiaries of that investment. I understand that women may pay higher rates of insurance per player to play on the pitches so I would appreciate comment from Mr. Mulvey on that.