Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I would also like to raise the issue of racism, particularly as it pertains to sport. I bring it up because Ms Nadia Power, the Irish athlete, recently asked us to continue the conversation on racism. We need to continue it in an appropriate and positive way. That is the only way we will make a difference to the various ways that people of colour and people from ethnic minorities experience racism on a regular basis in Ireland, including on sporting grounds.

We must keep that issue on the agenda and keep the discussions going in every sector.

I will mention some examples of what has happened to some young people. Leo Gaxha, a Kerryman, and now a young professional footballer, was told to "go back to [his] own country" while he was training in Tralee during the early weeks of the Covid-19 shutdown. In 2018, four Sporting Ennistymon F.C. players from Traveller backgrounds temporarily quit the sport, citing a series of racial slurs during games and the failure of referees to take them seriously. Yanis Zinedine Boulmelh, a Dubliner, was racially abused by an opponent during a game in the Leinster senior league. The referee took no action during the game, but Yanis has said he has experienced racism for more than 12 years on the pitch. The Westmeath GAA player, Boidu Sayeh, recently spoke up about his experience of racism and referenced a proliferation of sly comments. Gina Akpe-Moses stated that after she had competed and gained many medals, people had asked her why we had her and said that she is not Irish.

Many of the people speaking out are young adults, but I worry about the kids all across the country thinking of joining a team or taking up a sport. Perhaps they are getting hassle in their sport already and might be thinking about leaving it because of racism and sly comments. I would like the Minister and the Minister of State to comment on this issue as well, but I ask those children to tell someone, a friend, a parent, a coach or a teacher. I ask coaches and clubs across the country to check in with their kids and ask them if they have been getting hassle and sly comments. I also ask those clubs to not only look at who is in a club, but who is not in a club. I ask them to look around their communities and consider who in the community is not part of a club and why. Who does not feel comfortable approaching a club? Who has never been asked to join a club, who is afraid to ask and who never thought about asking?

These are the questions we can and should ask, not just regarding ethnicity, but also concerning gender and girl's and women's participation in sport, as well as the participation of people with disabilities and people with different sexual orientations. I highlight this issue not just to point out the things that are wrong and should be better, but to highlight the broader issue of inclusion in this session, because sport, and team sports in particular, if done properly and inclusively, have enormous potential to break down barriers, help people to feel they belong and are valued and are part of the community.

In respect of the national sports policy, what measures are being implemented to help kids in these situations? I refer to upskilling coaches, leaders and trainers into a position where they can intervene and deal with the kinds of things that happen regularly on pitches and at various sports grounds.

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