Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree. That is why I found it extraordinary. If I had someone like Patrick Horgan rang me to say "Christopher, can you help us out? We are organising a greyhound racing night in Cork, can you sponsor a race?", it would absolutely floor me but this is exactly what happened with the great Cork camogie team that just won the All-Ireland. This is an amazing group of players. They are icons, heroes, role-models for people. They are going to Croke Park and winning All-Irelands. We see players such as Fiona Keating, Saoirse McCarthy and Orla Cronin. It is amazing. I went up to Kent Station to welcome them back.

These guys are absolute heroes. I think it is extraordinary to get a phone call a couple of weeks later from the same team members that I had been shouting on and celebrating to see if I would sponsor a race or help out with their fund raising, the greyhound racing in Cork. This should not be happening anymore. That is why this amalgamation has to work, so that, as Ms McAleese said, it is equal treatment for equal players. I may be looking at this through rebel glasses but from a Cork person's point of view, it is the only joy we have been able to experience from a GAA, camogie or hurling point of view over the past number of years.

It is not just paying lip service to it. For me, at least, having observed the two codes, the standard of camogie and ladies' football is skyrocketing at quite an alarming pace. I might be wrong in my assessment but the skill level, professionalism and fitness show that these are extraordinary athletes. Attendances at matches are also growing. The witnesses talked things down a bit in terms of attendance but there have been record attendances recently at many of the finals. It may not be quite there yet but it is growing at an extraordinary pace.

These extraordinary players should not have to be coming to me or anyone else to bail them out to run the senior team. That should be on an equal basis. Perhaps the witnesses might like to comment on that and the fact that it is happening.