Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will give the Minister an example from my constituency. The local GAA club in a rapidly growing village is seeking to build new clubhouses and dressing rooms. It is very open and recognises that, apart from its sports club, there is very little for young people to do in the locality. Right now, it is very open to the concept of building the clubhouses but including in that new development a space that can be used for young people who may not be interested in playing Gaelic football or hurling to come in and be part of the community, develop as young adults, enjoy themselves and have a place to go at weekends and during school holidays and all of that. That is not really recognised in the capital schemes as they are currently set up. The sports capital programme is brilliant and there is space for collaboration and joint applications, but something specifically and formally organised between the Minister's Department and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media would be really beneficial and progressive.

It would try to capture those children, there are many such children, who do not engage in sport. They are just not interested in it and it is not their thing, but they feel very much excluded because of that.

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