Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to rain on the Minister’s parade in terms of the allocation of the funding. While it is welcome, it comes from the national lottery so it depends on people playing it every week and the Government will be selling the licence in the future. It is wrong we do not have an annualised sports capital programme. I welcome the fact the Minister argued for a second round this year. However, it is deeply unfair the way the Department of Finance takes moneys from the national lottery, which was set up for funding sport, elements of education and certain provisions in the health service, as some form of general taxation.

That is wrong, and I hope the Minister wins the battle to ensure the moneys generated through the national lottery are provided for sport on an annual basis. The level of funding that went into sports capital projects, particularly in County Clare, has enhanced the capacity of teams to perform at the level they need to in this environment.

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