Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Speaking as one who was not hugely involved in sport as a young person, what my Department seeks to offer is alternatives for young people who are not as interested in team sports in particular as some other young people, but who want to have that element of social development that, for many young people, is filled by sports. It is really important for us to get that balance to encourage young people to do what they want and to support them. I think all present agree that trying to leverage young people into anything they do not want to do is absolutely not the right way to go. The point made by the Deputy in respect of the availability of locations and buildings is a really valuable one. I understand the Deputy will raise at a later stage the issue of capital funding for youth services. Securing premises for usage is always an issue and there may well be things that can be done in that regard. Youth services and sport probably have the same busy times but there may be something we could do to leverage the use of community space.

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