Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Donald Trump wants the Chairman to come over. He has a small bit of bother at the moment and he said there is only one man who can save him before he is sent on a further journey and that is the Chairman of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport.

I wish to pay tribute to the athletes. I know they are not in it to participate. They are in it to win and that is made all the harder by the lack of funding. We saw what happened when hockey had its tremendous success when the silver medal was achieved in the world cup. That was a similar story of an underfunded organisation. Then there was the promise of funding, when it was given €1 million, but it was not quite as it had been initially portrayed. Rowing Ireland outlined the issue that it is operating on a budget that is a fraction of that of New Zealand. The figure of €1 million per boat and the requirement for one-to-one coaching is quite stark. Luckily enough, we are in pre-budget season so this is the right time for Rowing Ireland to be asking for money. As Sport Ireland will be before the committee on 16 October, what change can this committee ask of Sport Ireland, on Rowing Ireland's behalf, that is available and can be done? I agree with my colleagues that those who are excelling should get a bonus because of the hard work they have done over the years. I also wish to hear from the rowers themselves. I thank them for their attendance but we did not ask them to be here just for the photo opportunity. We also want to hear their points of view because it is they who must get up in the dark mornings in the cold winter. We can imagine how difficult it is but we would like to hear from them on what they would like to see changed in the system that would assist them to achieve their full potential.