Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Perhaps I am not putting it across very well, but the point is there are myriad non-governmental bodies and national sporting bodies which receive small grants which barely keep such organisations going. Such bodies are nonetheless important to try to sustain a given sport. There simply is no room to take money out of such allocations and one would not find €3.5 million in any case. If one examines the difference in the size of the Irish Sports Council grant from last year, some obvious conclusions may be drawn. We either stop funding many small sports altogether to maintain what everyone on the Opposition seeks or we do not. This is the challenge we now face. The State and the taxpayer has rightly provided substantial resources for capital projects which are now generating substantial returns. This will continue for the other bodies when the Lansdowne Road project is completed. Where does the responsibility for player welfare lie? In some respects the national body, the GAA, would say it is directly responsible for player welfare, but it cannot be both.

See this speech in context