Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

We have waited a long time for this legislation to reach the House. Difficulties with Abbotstown had to be addressed before we debated this Bill. Ireland is a sports mad country and we have set standards that prioritise our national games. We must try to change this mind set and portray Ireland as a country with international ability at various disciplines. The Abbotstown campus is a first step as it will provide facilities for minority sports, giving them a prominence they have not enjoyed heretofore. The lack of public relations and financial backing are reasons these disciplines remain minority sports.

During Question Time the Minister suggested at least 30 national organisations would be facilitated in Abbotstown. I hope the authority will examine creating a co-operative for minority sports, providing office staff and allowing these sports to develop. These sports have not been able to attract young people into the discipline. When children enter school they are asked if they want to play football, hurling, soccer or rugby. This reflects the mind set of the Irish sporting public, which encompasses everyone in Ireland to some extent.

Our boxers and athletes have tried to meet the maximum qualifying standards for the Olympic Games with the minimum number of competitors. As a small nation we do not have sufficient numbers to raise the standard in various disciplines to qualify for the Olympic Games. The advantage of London being the venue for the Olympic Games is a major factor. The costs accruing to the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council of Ireland will not be as high as for previous Olympic Games. The problem of relevant qualification pertaining to the different disciplines will raise its head and while this occasion should allow for the largest national team to be sent to London I wonder what the rewards will be when it comes to success. Is success measured by the country's attendance and participation or by the winning of medals?

The proposal is to look after the elite sportspeople through funding of the sporting bodies but sports at school level must be encouraged. This facility is to be welcomed. My predecessor as spokesperson, Deputy O'Shea, always supported the establishment of a centre of excellence. If this centre is regarded as solely provided for the elite athletes, we will not reap the significant and beneficial rewards. Young people must be attracted to sport. Thirty national sports will be facilitated as detailed by the Minister in his contribution. I hope that when Abbotstown is up and running, it will provide a central focus for many sporting groups which will encourage a diversification from a more narrow mindset which concentrates on the national sports and rugby and soccer.

The Minister referred to the role of sports in developing a healthy society. The proposed centre at Abbotstown will be a means of preventing anti-social behaviour among the young which is widespread in every village, town and city. Senior citizens are suffering as a result of anti-social behaviour and sport and recreation is the one way to combat it. If youngsters can be shown that sport and recreation are alternatives to anti-social behaviour it would create a far healthier society. Senior citizens could enjoy living in their own area and enjoy watching and supporting local youngsters playing sports on the playing fields. This would help eliminate the major social problem of anti-social behaviour which afflicts every village and town.

Recently the Community Games was the subject of a question to the Minister. Given the amount of land included in the proposed development, I ask the Minister to consider whether a mechanism is available to allow for the Community Games to be part and parcel of the overall structure. The Community Games includes a variety of activities such as drama, art and the many aspects of sport. It would be a natural progression for them to attach themselves to a particular sport or discipline and standards would rise as a result. If standards do not improve there could be disappointment in ten or 12 years' time when we may not attain the success we hoped for. If the enthusiasm and energy of the sporting associations does not reap the rewards in an improvement in performance in the Olympic Games, this disappointment may create problems in the aim of a better society being achieved through the provision of sporting and recreational facilities.

The national lottery has been a means of providing funding for sporting facilities in towns and villages. There has been a decrease in the number of people willing to help as volunteers and this may be due to longer commuting times. Participation in sporting activities has decreased as a result. I ask the Minister to facilitate schools and those living in the extensive catchment area of Abbotstown. He is allowing for private entrepreneurs to provide facilities. I hope he will allow young people to come to the centre at Abbotstown where they can see the elite athletes.

I ask the Minister to consider providing national lottery funding to the various clubs which are encountering difficulties because of the decrease in the numbers of volunteers, in particular clubs in less well-off areas, to hire mentors or coaches. The facilities may be in place but the national lottery funding may be a means of providing funding at local level to pay for the necessary training of youngsters. A young person who is involved in any sport or recreation will not have anti-social behaviour problems. In recent months the newspapers highlighted occasions on which a person with a sporting background was in trouble with the law because it is an exceptional occurrence. Those with no background in sport or other recreation, such as drama, are reported in the newspapers every day of the week as having problems.

I cannot understand section 38, which provides: "The Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister [for Arts, Sport and Tourism] shall have, and be deemed always to have had, power to hold and transfer shares in the Company and the establishment of the Company shall be, and be deemed always to have been, as valid and effectual as if they had that power at the time of its establishment." I would like the Minister to explain that? The Labour Party has raised it several times in the past on similar Bills but has not received an answer. We have argued on the indemnity deal on some aspects of Bills, and this was strongly contested by the Taoiseach. He claimed that as a statutory corporation the Minster had a general contractual capacity. We wonder if he is now getting different advice and whether we will be able to discuss that matter. I ask the Minister to clear up the matter when he sums up on Second Stage.

Like the Minister and Deputy Deenihan, I congratulate and thank Mr. Con Haugh, who has always been available to Opposition spokespersons who wanted to speak to him. With his staff he has done much work on this facility.

If we are to achieve international success at the Olympic Games we must broaden the range of sports followed by the Irish sporting public to include Olympic disciplines. Given that Abbotstown will facilitate 30 different disciplines, people may value sports they did not previously recognise. I was at a meeting of the Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when the Young Dáil officials visited. One of the young people said he was not interested in soccer or football but liked to kick a ball around. Some of the disciplines to be newly available at Abbotstown may be of interest and benefit to that young person who feels that GAA, soccer and rugby are too competitive for his physical well-being or attributes.

I welcome the Bill. We will discuss it further on Committee Stage when some of the matters raised here will be discussed by way of amendments or by the Minister clarifying some of the aspects of the Bill.

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