Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Wexford received €900,000 in capital sports grants. Given the money the Minister of State had at his disposal, that was fair enough. However, there is serious concern in Wexford, particularly among the soccer fraternity but also among the public in general, that the distribution of the money appears to lack fairness. There is a feeling in Wexford that there may have been political interference, which is something we hoped we had left behind us.

Soccer is probably the biggest sport in the county and we got €40,000 out of the total allocation, which is less than 5%. Applications were submitted by 18 clubs and by the football league itself but only three clubs received funding, of €40,000 between them. This does not look balanced and there are some very disgruntled people in the county. The notion that there may have been political interference is a bit frightening.

If more funding becomes available in the next 12 months, I ask the Minister of State to consider the soccer clubs in a favourable manner. I realise that some clubs' applications were rejected for one reason or another. I have looked at some of the refusals. It appeared to me that one could refuse any application if one wanted to do so. The application rules are tight and it is difficult to meet the criteria. It was almost impossible to submit an application that was 100% perfect.

The Minister of State knows what I am saying.

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