Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for coming in. Over the past 12 to 18 months I have got into the habit of saying that every day is a bonus and your health is your wealth of life. Sport plays a major part in the lives of many people in Ireland. Even internationally, Ireland is known as being a sporting nation. I believe we have missed a major opportunity on the island of Ireland. The Government and the Norther Ireland Executive had an opportunity to work very closely together and we failed really badly. Sporting organisations are among those which should be working very closely together. I ask the Minister and Minister of State when was the last time they spoke to their counterparts in Northern Ireland. From my perspective as someone from a Border town like Dundalk, it is very important we work very closely with Northern bodies. For example, golf resumed last week in Northern Ireland. A considerable number of people from Dundalk and the surrounding areas, and even from Dublin, to whom I have been talking went up there to play golf. That is wrong at the moment, especially as it is the one island. Do not get me wrong, I welcome the fact that as of Monday, our elite sports people are back training and participating but we should be working more closely with the North. I am very disappointed we do not have more of a roadmap and we need clarity, which is very important going forward.

Who makes these recommendations, be they for Gaelic football, soccer, rugby, golf or whatever? Take Gaelic games for example. Who makes the decisions that clubs can go back at a certain time and can train at certain times? One sporting organisation is saying it is coming from the Government and vice versa. People just want to know who makes these recommendations. Going back to the example of golf, last week many people went up to the North and were playing in groups of four. As of next Monday, golf is resuming in the South and two golfers may go out every eight minutes. It does not seem to be right. It is two people going around a big open space of between 100 and 150 acres. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. What I want to know, therefore, is who is making these decisions. Let us be manly enough to own up and say we need people back outside. The chances of catching the coronavirus is 20 times lower outside. I would appreciate answers to some of those questions.