Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome what the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, has had to say. I imagine the community-based activists involved in this programme will be thrilled to hear his encouraging remarks. The material was written up and prepared well in advance of the budget and was not contingent on it. Regardless, the sports capital grant announcement from the Minister of State is most welcome.

We are very pleased nationwide, and particularly in some of the clubs in my constituency that might have missed out in the past. This is almost a regional idea because the environs of the community of Lusk are significant, including towns such as Rush and Skerries. A plan to build a soccer stadium in Lusk in the mid-noughties, which would have been of great benefit to the community, unfortunately fell by the wayside. Programmes to encourage young people to involve themselves in sporting activities and keep up reasonable fitness levels are very important at a time when unfortunately young people after college or university tend to drop out of sport at an incredible rate. If a facility or facilities are provided, they encourage people to get involved.

Significant sums of money have been allocated by the Department of Education and Skills to a brand new secondary school in Lusk in the past week and a new primary school in the nearby community of Rush. The culmination of the Lusk 2020 scheme and the Minister of State’s proposals to consider this and to roll out funding through the sports capital grants and the regional grants provide great opportunities for us to use this as a template nationwide and I would certainly encourage that.

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