Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The canals are a potential tourism facility in Kildare, and if they were opened up to cycling and walking, it would be excellent. I can see huge potential in the long term.

Investment in sport occurs in a number of ways and one way which goes unnoticed is how the Tús scheme works for sports clubs and sports organisations in helping to maintain what they have and allowing improvements to be made.

I am delighted we will amalgamate two organisations. The National Sports Campus Development Authority started off on a bad vein with the Bertie bowl, and thanks be to God this was got rid of years ago. It also had problems with the pool. We will have a national sports centre run by the Sports Council, which has an interest in sport. With the amalgamation of the two bodies will we see a reduction in staff and the associated administrative costs? If amalgamations take place in the private sector, inevitably there are staff reductions. Will we see this in the short term or will it take longer to reach the objective of reducing the costs of running the two organisations?

I have not seen any mention of a board in the Bill. The Sports Council board has nine members and there are 15 on the National Sports Campus Development Authority. Will there be a board? People speak about gender equality. I am very much in favour of putting people on boards who have the capacity to add to the board and are not put on it for the sake of being put on it. I would welcome as many sporting people as possible because they have a knowledge of sport.

My next point is not associated with the Bill. It is with regard to a serious problem with young people, which is concussion in sport. I have written to the Minister for Education and Skills and perhaps the Minister of State will be able to help me in this matter. There is a good programme in Northern Ireland for schools to ensure the implementation of the procedure to be followed when concussion occurs. Perhaps we need to implement something similar in our schools. I have seen it at national sport level but not in school sports and we need to address it.

The Minister of State might contact his colleague about implementing what is going on in the North of Ireland at the moment with regard to concussion in young people.

I wish the Minister of State the best of success with this. He is most unfair in being even throughout the whole county. I hope we will have the next round of sports capital grants as soon as possible.

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