Mr. Iarlaith ? Broin:

If you are asking about a practical way in which the Government can help us, it could reopen the international investment programme. We have grounds in Waterford, Meath, Longford, Louth and elsewhere throughout the country, including Fitzgerald Stadium in Kerry, that were impacted as a result of the fund being discontinued. We are the only country in Europe where the international investment programme has been stopped. That money would be spent directly on infrastructure and would remove much of the financial burden from the GAA, the LGFA and An Cumman Camógaíochta. That would be a really good start for all of us. Every county I visit, - for example, as Kildare, which is in the middle of rebuilding St. Conleth's - is waiting for that money to be released. I understand the Government's reticence, because we want to do it with integrity and you have to do due diligence on the type of people who are looking to invest in this country. However, the prize in this regard is significant. Because we have this indigenous game, we do not have the auctioning power of UEFA or FIFA. Even watching the Champions League - and I am an Arsenal fan - last night, I was looking at three advertisements along the side one of which was PlayStation, the other Heineken and the other was McDonalds. Because of the values of our association, we do not have connections with any of those three companies. One is a fast food company, the second is an alcohol company and the third promotes a sedentary lifestyle. That holds us back. We have stopped ourselves taking the type of betting company sponsorship that many sports rely on. That is very good for our values, but it really holds us back. About €500 million is being spent every year on fighting obesity. If you put that into infrastructure - into fields for children to play in - that is the best way to assist your nation.

If a message were to go out that the Government is going to put a field in every village in Ireland, which you would think would be a simple objective, we know exactly what would happen. The cost of the available facility that you were looking to purchase would rocket. It always does, no matter what grant the Government gives out, whether it is for solar panels, electric vehicle charging or whatever. If you allow GAA clubs in the new era to apply for grant aid to upgrade their facilities or buy fields adjacent to them, anyone in the GAA will know that if you send the right person to the right farmer who owns the field, he will give it to you for the right price. However, if he finds out that the Government is going to come in and do it for us, we all know that the price will be inflated. These are all local Irish solutions to the Irish situation. Is it not wonderful, as the iarUachtarán said, that 140 years on from whenever it was developed, the biggest challenge we have is that we do not have enough fields for the people who want to play our native games? That is a great challenge that we have and one that we will surmount.