Ms Fiona Hanaphy:

I play for a club based in Tallaght, which is not a highly recognised hockey catchment area. I grew up in Tallaght and played hockey from the age of six. Hockey has reached areas outside the private schools. My club's pitch was funded through local partnerships and various sports capital grants. The club has been there for 40 years, although it may have shifted locations. Hockey is played outside private schools and is thriving in some areas where one may not expect it to be played. I fully acknowledge the point made by the Deputy regarding the perception, but there is significant growth of hockey at grassroots level outside its traditional areas.

On women in sport, I was at the match in Donnybrook. A young girl there wanted to get a player to sign the back of her jersey. One of the men's high-performance team offered to sign it but the girl told him she did not have space as she only wanted the names of women players on her shirt. That is how women in sport is developing. There is fantastic growth at grassroots level. If one cannot see it, one cannot be it. I thought that girl's attitude was fantastic.