Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for allowing me to attend the meeting. I apologise to the witnesses because I am trying desperately to master the skill of bilocation with the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs.

My question or point applies to both organisations. My impression is based on the rugby scene and my experience in my club, as Mr. Browne will know. It touches on what Senator O'Mahony mentioned in regard to the plight of clubs. I refer not only to rugby, Gaelic games and soccer. I am very concerned over the drop-off rate in active participation among adults. When I played mini-rugby in the 1990s, there might have been 20 children for the entire club. We now have 450. When I used to go to watch matches, I went to watch one of seven or eight adult teams but now we are lucky to get three or four in any one club. I appreciate the pressures associated with being able to watch so much sport on television, be it terrestrial, free-to-air or pay-per-view. I appreciate also the lure of the gyms and the attraction of going to watch professional teams of the highest level, which opportunity might not have arisen in the past. The IRFU's document mentions this as a challenge. How can we address the challenge associated with a falling off in the number participating? We are constantly talking about getting children active, active society and "Operation Transformation" and all that go with them but I believe involvement in clubs and team sports, especially in the community, is far more beneficial to mental and physical health than CrossFit or FitPit, or whatever one opts for. What are the two organisations doing to address this challenge? How could the sports capital grants target areas in this regard? Is the problem a lack of high-quality changing facilities and playing facilities and is there a need for more all-weather turf and floodlights to allow for evening games? Is it a matter of general emphasis?