Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It gives me great pleasure to support this Bill, which is a vital piece of infrastructure in respect of improving the image of sport in Ireland. The Irish are a nation of sports fanatics, be that in respect of the four-legged beings to which Deputy Butler referred or simply the two-legged beings. I first wish to congratulate the Minister of State on all his efforts during his term of office over the past three and a half years to put sport on an even higher pedestal than we in Ireland had placed it.

The sports capital programme is vital to clubs and organisations in every part of the country. It gives an impetus to communities, with grants supporting employment through the local contractor and so on. All of this spin-off brings a vibrancy to whole communities, regardless of which sporting organisation or club receives the grant. It gives people a sense of pride to know they have fought for their own, developing their community and providing an alternative to anti-social behaviour, drugs and so on. That is of enormous value at this time. In recent days we saw that the drug barons are working hard to bring their product into the country. It is a hard battle we are fighting. Sport offers young people a positive alternative and we must continue to develop it in every shape and form.

Our elite athletes have served us well and shown a great example to young people. Nobody can deny the time, effort and dedication they have given to their country, whatever the sport in which they represent it. Golf is one of our major sports and I take this opportunity to wish Paul McGinley, Rory McIllroy and Graham McDowell well tomorrow when they represent Europe in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. Mr. McGinley has been a wonderful ambassador for Ireland as captain of the Ryder Cup team and we hope it all goes well for him tomorrow.

As I said, supporting local clubs is vital, not least because of the role they play in preventing anti-social behaviour and ensuring the drug barons do not win. The only way we can defeat them is by reducing the demand for what they sell. To do that we must provide outlets that will engage young people. As a fanatical supporter of sport, it seems to me it is one of the best outlets. There is a challenge to be met here. I urge the Minister of State to speak with all the national organisations to examine this aspect. There is always somebody left out when funding is distributed, and it is when young people are isolated and bored that drugs can seem attractive. There are wonderful people giving of their time voluntarily throughout the country. Deputy Joe O'Reilly spoke about sports volunteers working every hour of the day and night. We must support what they are doing by giving direction from the top.

The Minister of State has a feel for sport, which is essential for the job he is doing. I saw the delight on his face at the announcement of host countries for the European Championship in 2020. This is a great achievement for Ireland and will mean a great deal to the young people who believe in soccer. The latter is not my support, as John Delaney would readily acknowledge; it has always been the GAA for me. I have been chairman of the county board and of supporters' clubs. That is incidental, however, because the particular sport is not relevant. It is about encouraging young people to participate in something they enjoy.

Reference was made to the greyhound industry. In my constituency, the bloodstock industry plays a vital role and we look forward to the redevelopment of the Curragh racecourse. The home of the five Irish classics should have best facilities and be able to attract people from all over the world. I urge the Minister of State to work with Horse Racing Ireland to ensure that happens. The Punchestown festival is another wonderful event, second only to Cheltenham and almost matching it at this stage.

It is about focusing on the future and getting young people interested in sport. We must work to direct them toward participating in whichever sport takes their interest. We must help them to think positively about themselves and what they can do. Everybody has a role to play in their own community, club, school and so on. The only way to reduce demand for drugs is via education and offering people alternatives. The drug barons can take drugs themselves if they wish, but they must not be allowed to harm our children. Their aim is to get as much money as they can, with no concern for the effect on anybody.

Measures to reform the rates and valuations system are of great importance. Problems in this regard have been ongoing for a long time. We have all expressed concerns about the drinks industry, alcohol advertising and so on, but that is not what this is about. It is about a wrong that was done to sports clubs whereby they were obliged to pay higher rates than was ever envisaged simply because their facilities included a bar. It is only right that such rates should be reduced. The moneys we are talking about are used by volunteers to develop facilities for their communities. It was crazy to ask people to pay those types of rates when they were about was of such benefit to their town or community. People worked hard to earn the cash they were using to support and develop a particular sport.

We are approaching the time when the sports capital grants will be allocated and I have no doubt that the Minister of State will be thumping the table in an effort to secure as much funding as he can. There are 166 Members in this House and 60 in the other House and not a single one would argue against the importance of this scheme, because it means so much to people. I am sometimes amazed when I visit a club or organisation which has benefited from big money. I am also amazed when I see how even a small allocation can make a huge difference to another club. I wish the Minister of State well as he seeks to secure another round of funding.

The national sports campus is a fantastic asset. I recently met with members of Team Tyrone, which is the GAA supporters' club in that county. In Kildare, we have the Hawkfield centre of excellence for elite footballers. The Tyrone people could not understand why it had been given this elite designation, because, apart from the county teams, it deprived everybody else of the use of it. They could not see the logic in it at all. Their training centre, they explained, was for everybody, not just the elite. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that clubs all over Dublin or anywhere else in the country who wish to train in the national sports campus are facilitated. When people go home to their own club, they can tell their fellow members what they did and what they learned. This already happens to some extent in the case of Croke Park, with local clubs and schools encouraged to go there and see the facilities. The same should apply to the national sports campus. As we develop that facility for every aspect of sport, I hope we will see this type of inclusiveness.

Several speakers referred to the increasing numbers taking up walking and running in recent years. My club in Castlemitchell was recently involved in a couch to 5 km initiative.

People came to the club to train to walk, cycle or run the 5 km. Some 70 to 80 people turned up for the 5 km. The benefit to the community of showing what the GAA club was able to do was enormous. When we get an opportunity, we should not throw it away because a club is a rugby club or whatever. People may be able to use facilities on its grounds, etc. and that can be of huge benefit to the community.

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