Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

Perhaps the Minister is unaware of the two-tier system in sport. Summer camps, a brilliant facility, are being arranged all over the country. As a former Minister for Social and Family Affairs, the Minister will be aware that a single parent on social welfare receives around €185 weekly. Enrolling a child in a summer camp would cost almost €70 or almost half of his or her weekly income. For this reason, it is not an option.

I hope the Minister and the Irish Sports Council will inform organisations which organise summer camps, for instance, the GAA and FAI, that they must reduce the horrendous fees they charge as they prevent wider participation and a greater social mix. Most of the costs of summer camps are associated with equipment. Will the Minister make representations to the Irish Sports Council to ensure wider participation in these camps, even if it means a young lad no longer gets a sports jersey at the end of the camp because this may prevent his neighbour or friend playing? One can imagine the effect that exclusion from such events for financial reasons must have on children from families in the lower-income bracket.

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