Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course, as the Minister will know, there is also Broadford Rovers in Ballinteer, the finest Rovers of the lot.

I pay tribute to the Minister, Shane Ross, and his service to the Oireachtas over many years, and especially to my constituency, Dublin Rathdown, as my local Deputy. I have absolute admiration and respect for him continuing in this important ministerial role during this extremely difficult time for our State and community.

I want to raise two substantive issues relating to sport.

I join with Deputies Jim O'Callaghan, Darren O'Rourke and Ellis in expressing my already-expressed concerns about the connections with Daniel Kinahan and the major boxing fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. I welcome the comments from the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, that he has communicated with the British authorities and with the broadcasters. This brings up the important role of media in the coverage of this fight. I pay credit to the Irish Daily Star, which has taken the extremely brave decision not to cover this fight while the involvement of Daniel Kinahan continues. There is a lesson for international press in particular to make sure it looks through the full details of what is going on in respect of the fight preparation and who is involved. I hope to see a change of tone and a bit of education.

With regard to substantive local issues in sport, I have a slightly niche one for both the Minister and Minister of State. This September, the Aviva was due to play host to the American football classics between Navy and Notre Dame. This was a significant game and I was very lucky to attend the previous version of this game a number of years ago, when the now Taoiseach was Minister, and to see the colour and the huge crowds that came to the country from the USA. It was a significant boost to our economy at a much tougher time. It is something that many of us were looking forward to, both as sports fans and from an economic and tourism point of view. What efforts have been made to try to secure the restaging of this particular fixture? I know the universities of Nebraska and Illinois are due to come in two years' time but there is an opportunity on many levels for this sport to be a driver for the country. It is not just about the game itself but also the matches that happen the night before at the high school and junior college levels. It is a substantial boost for what I admit is a minority sport, which I am fortunate to have played not so long ago and indeed for which I hold an all-Ireland winner's medal. As much from a sporting as a tourism point of view, it has to be chased.

As many Deputies, including Deputy Ó Cuív, have said, sport is so much better when one is there and crowds can enjoy it. We see that New Zealand will have live rugby this weekend with crowds there. There already have been soccer matches with crowds in Belgrade this week. When we get to a position when it is safe to do it, we need protocols for people to return to enjoy sport. It is not just about the elite athletes, participants and officials, but also the supporters who need to be enjoy it in safety and as soon as requirements allow.

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