Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives from the Department and Sport Ireland. Earlier, I outlined the benefits of sport and acknowledged the huge contribution that organised sporting bodies played locally in the early days of the pandemic. They demonstrated the substantial community resource that they are. I echo John Treacy's comments on the availability of sports outside the traditional ones. I was very pleased to be involved in Sportsfest, the sports partnership led by Dublin City Council which encouraged people to try different sports that were new to them.

Sport is not a business but it does have a financial model. This morning we heard clearly from the large sporting bodies and how they operate. I am more concerned about those on the ground. I mentioned Tolka Rovers this morning. It is almost at the point of closing its gates because its financial model was based on its hall being let to different groups. The income stream from that is gone, and they now have a bank loan with no way of meeting its repayments. I imagine every sports club with a substantial premises is in a similar position.

What guarantees are in place to ensure that the €70 million going into sport in Ireland through the sporting bodies and Sport Ireland is reaching those on the ground? More importantly, non-financial help is needed to assist with the capacity in each of these clubs. The Department needs to approach representatives from the banks to ensure that much of the property owned by sporting bodies locally, often on State land on long-term leases, cannot be realised by the bank closing on them. The bank should and must take steps to restructure or be proactive. Can the Department commit to dealing with the banks to support clubs on a wider scale in order that there is a policy across the sector rather than by individual bank?