Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Communities have not been found wanting and will not be, but the Minister's Department is.

10 o’clock

I accept that most local authorities have applied and I acknowledge the work the Department does with local authorities through the local authority play and recreation network, LAPRN. In 2018 the Minister's Department began holding annual meetings with LAPRN members and established a subgroup. All of this is fine. Through this process the Minister and the Department have been able to identify particular issues with respect to insurance costs for local authorities. There is a huge issue in this regard right across the community spectrum. We have invested a great amount over the years, in good times and bad, through the enabling bodies of the communities. Ní neart go cur le chéile. It was they who put us on the road. They are the people with the vision and the passion. We need funding to keep such facilities maintained and to upgrade them. There is no point in investing for years only for a facility to be closed due to a lack of funds. People do not have the energy, the funds, or the capacity to repair these facilities. We must invest more in our community facilities. It is fine to allocate grants to get them up and running and to have a ribbon-cutting and a big hoo-ha and hurrah, but we must ensure there is sufficient funding to keep them active. We should carry out a small amount of maintenance every year to prevent big issues developing. We must support the communities that support themselves.

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