Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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That marathon seemed to go on forever.

I would like to mention three issues. I come back to the one raised by Deputy Dowds on the GAA, the IRFU and the FAI. From the figures presented, I note that approximately 20% of the organisation's budget is spent on those three big operations. What is the basis of the allocation? They are allocated roughly €2.5 million, €2.7 million and €2.8 million. There is a world of difference between each of those organisations. The GAA is a purely domestic organisation. The other two are international as well as domestic. Is the allocation made on the basis of need, size or achievement? It seems the GAA is a very profitable organisation. The State has already made a massive grant investment in the region of €200 million for the Croke Park stadium development, which Kieran Mulvey would well know from his engagement there and the good work he did trying to sort out the Garth Brooks concerts and the relationship between the local people and the GAA. This is now a major commercial facility. It is a limited company that brings in a huge amount of money every year. Regardless of whether the books of the GAA are available to the Irish Sports Council when the funding is made available, that company, having paid off all the debt on that facility, will now be a money-making and commercial entity to a large degree.

Focusing on the other area, soccer clubs around the country are operating on a shoestring, by and large. They need a restructuring to a considerable degree because of the manner in which they spring up around the place and then disappear in some areas as quickly as they appeared. Rugby can get massive sponsorship, as is the case with the GAA to a degree. There is a world of difference between the domestic and the international dimensions and the cohort of people who play those games. The cohort who play rugby is not the same as the cohort who play soccer. The game played exclusively in my constituency in Dublin Central is soccer. There is virtually no GAA games or rugby played. There is a need factor in that respect. How is that need factor, in terms of a people profile, built into the equation when the allocations are made?