Ms Michele Rohan:

With regard to the point made on coaching, the CE scheme for which I am a supervisor is very heavily involved with many GAA, soccer and rugby clubs. We have a few community centres with basketball and badminton clubs. We have a very large athletics club in Claregalway. As is the case across the country, all of these clubs are crying out for coaches. Most of them depend on parents and volunteers. It is funny that the Deputy should bring this up because I have been examining it with one of our hurling clubs recently. It is definitely an area in which there would be great interest. It would benefit everyone. We have an annual contract with the Department of Social Protection and an agreement that is signed. It is a legal document. When we want to make a change, we have to ask, apply and go through the official routes to do that. We would have to amend the agreement if we wanted to include, say, a sports development officer across the board. We would have to try to increase our numbers, which I am currently considering, because we had two additional sponsors added to the scheme last year. This required an amendment and insurance. For me to add the four extra people I was given, I had to go back to my insurance company and go through all the paperwork again. However, what is proposed can be done. There are easier ways to do it. It is an absolutely brilliant and beneficial idea for the entire country with regard to CE schemes. Sports development officers can go into schools and the children can go to their local pitches and have somebody there. Even yesterday in Claregalway we had a County Clare hurler who gave of his own time to train the kids of the national school he had been to. It was during his own time because he is finished college at the minute. Let us consider the training that could be given and the qualifications. There could be strength and conditioning courses. Individuals could go on to third level education. It is boundless, really. The idea is excellent and we would very much be in favour of participating in that regard.