Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

To put it in context and to mitigate the criticism, an enormous amount of money has been put into improving sports facilities in this country over the period. Some €725 million was spent on this area between 1998 and this year. I am sure the Deputy is as aware as I am, from observation in her constituency, of the transforming effect on many clubs and facilities the sports capital programme has had. I said to the previous Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy John O'Donoghue, that if the rest of Government worked as well as the sports capital programme did during that period, the country would be flying.

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