Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

The Minister referred to the point I was intending to raise, the dropping out of over 16s from team sports. This is particularly significant in more socially deprived areas where the alternatives are often unattractive and undesirable such as anti-social behaviour. I wonder what specific initiatives can be taken to ensure young people who might be vulnerable are encouraged to remain in or return to sport after the age of 16 years, when they are particularly prone to dropping out. I presume it has something to do with the fact that, as they have left school, school sports facilities are no longer available to them and so on.

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