Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this legislation. I congratulate the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Ring, on staying in this portfolio. I reminded of a Shakespearean quote, "rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated". Unfortunately, I was not available this time. I am sure the Taoiseach acknowledges the work being done by the Minister of State in County Mayo. I know the pipeline into the west is open. It is constantly delivering all the good news from the Minister of State. I acknowledge the work he has been doing in this area over the last three years.

Until recently, the promotion of sport might have been regarded as a Cinderella area of public administration. That was certainly the case in the tourism sector, for which the Minister of State is also responsible. The employment levels that can be generated from tourism and sport have become clear in recent years. The Ballyhoura Mountains in my own county of Limerick are the home of one of the finest mountain bike tracks in the world. I know the Minister of State was in County Limerick recently in connection with the series of greenways in the county. I wonder whether it might be possible to bring the network of greenways into a single consolidated greenway. Something similar was done in the case of the Wild Atlantic way, which was another initiative of the Minister of State. Perhaps the disused railway lines around the west, from west Cork to Donegal, could form a greenway network.

I am sure the Minister of State has been filled with platitudes all evening. Lads are conscious of the fact that sports capital grants are due in 2015, as well as 2014. I have to say that many of his ministerial colleagues could learn much from how he deals with political representations. He certainly runs a very good office. His officials always get back to us. We do not have to chase him around the Dáil when votes are being held. Some Ministers try to dodge us in such circumstances. I know Opposition Deputies who feel the very same.

I want to thank the Minister of State sincerely for the allocations that have been made in County Limerick over the three years since the formation of this Government. Almost €3 million has been provided to a variety of codes under the sports capital programme. That is a stimulus. One often hears Opposition spokespersons and people in the media talking about the need for a stimulus. In my part of the world, a small parish of fewer than 1,000 people would benefit from a stimulus like an investment of €30,000, €40,000, €50,000 or €60,000 in the local GAA or soccer club or some other sporting organisation. This kind of Government cash injection is based on fair criteria and can be audited and verified. We would all love to see more money being spent in our local areas. I am glad the Government has given a commitment to reopen the sports capital programme next year. I hope this will happen again in 2016 and on an annualised basis. I think the formula introduced by the Minister, whereby counties get money based on the proportion of the national population in that county, is working. Its fairness is in stark contrast to the cronyism that existed until recently.

I compliment the Minister of State on some of his recent achievements. I know he is a big soccer fan. Some positive opportunities will result from the soccer matches that will be held in Dublin in 2020. Similarly, the IRFU hopes to host the Rugby World Cup in the next decade. The GAA has had a fantastic year. In that context, these debates give us an opportunity to take stock of the status of sport in Ireland. Previous speakers have alluded to the fact that certain types of sports are not for everybody. There is only one thing worse than two bad eyes, and that is two bad lungs, but I was fortunate to be blessed at being fairly good at swimming. Some people do not realise until they are in their late 30s that they suffer from exercise-induced asthma. That might explain why they are useless at team sports. There is a niche for every individual. As others have said, not everybody is in a position to enjoy team sports in the same way that others enjoy them. Perhaps they are not physically able to do so.

Deputy Harrington spoke about a friend of his who was asked why he did not get involved in sports like Johnny up the road. His parents wanted to know why he was not bringing home the cup. As a teacher, I know that such comments can be soul-destroying for young people. We need to reflect on how we articulate our desire for people to get involved in sport, especially at a young age. Teachers are conscious that language is hugely important in this context, but others also need to be aware of its importance. Policymakers need to be conscious that not everybody is physically able to engage in sport. Some people are unable to participate in team sports because their social skills are not properly developed. They might be able to participate in something like archery, draughts, swimming or pole vaulting. In recent years, there has been a massive growth in individual sporting pursuits like running and cycling. The Government's welcome initiative in relation to those two codes should be encouraged.

I will not repeat what others have said about the health benefits of the approach to sport that is being taken by the Government and the Minister of State. However, I emphasise that if we do not deal properly and comprehensively with obesity related illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, hypertension and obesity related cancers, a generation of people will be wiped out by such illnesses, just as previous generations were wiped out by TB. As a State and as a country, we need to say how much money we expect to spend each year to reduce the prevalence of such illnesses and the collective weight of the country.

I know from my work as a teacher and from talking to my colleagues and to parents that this is a huge problem. Sport has to play a part in restructuring our approach to it. The work being done by the Minister of State in the context of this Bill, for example, by engaging with his colleagues in the Departments of Education and Skills, Health, Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Environment, Community and Local Government and Finance, is absolutely essential. We need to focus on where we build houses and how we tax certain products. I do not think we can overstate the huge implications that this Bill will have for the health of the nation. I do not think this debate should be used as an opportunity to clap ourselves on the back for the good work we are doing.

The Minister of State will probably be on the same page as me when I say that events this summer have demonstrated the dire need for proper legislation to be introduced to facilitate sporting organisations that make their facilities available as the GAA did when the Garth Brooks concerts were being organised. We should not have an international Ballymagash like we had this summer, when we were plastered all over every media outlet in the world for all the wrong reasons. I encourage the Minister of State with responsibility for sport to deliver a message to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government reminding it that this really needs to be dealt with. The events to which I refer reflected badly on Ireland, our sporting organisations and our sporting venues.

I have no problem saying, as I did at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, that the GAA was very badly treated during the Garth Brooks fiasco. As a member of the committee in question, I took fairly serious offence when I received a letter from the Dublin city manager asking me to set out the position regarding my support for and membership of the GAA before I could ask him any questions. My support for and membership of the GAA have nothing whatsoever to do with my ability to carry out my job as a public representative. I made that very clear to the city manager when he came to the committee meeting. He was left under no illusion that he was on the wrong side of the debate as the whole fiasco unwound and, as a result, this country was perceived badly across the world. I am sure the Minister of State knows about the latter aspect of the matter from his work in the tourism area of the Department.

This Bill is important because it consolidates a number of agencies and represents a further commitment by the Government to the de-quangoisation, as it were, of the country. We have an awful lot of bodies competing with one another while essentially doing the same thing. I compliment the Minister of State on the work he is doing and on his delivery of real results for constituencies and communities like my own. I hope the Government's commitment to developing facilities in small locations that do not have the population base to sustain lotteries and fund-raising drives will be realised so that the people in those areas can rely on the Minister of State and his Department to give them a gee up. He will not be short of support from the backbenches at parliamentary party meetings and elsewhere in terms of ensuring that his budget is enhanced. I am sure the Minister of State will reciprocate that support with support for our constituencies.

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