Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ultimately our people look to us as policymakers to provide leadership in the area of enhancing community life and well-being in general. Our school facilities are funded by the State, by the taxpayer, and there is a dearth of provision in such areas as youth work and local community-based childcare and the provision of sports facilities. In recent months we have seen some interesting collaborations between schools and local sports clubs, supported through the sports capital grant scheme. We can leverage much of that in the future. There is a significant opportunity to build on that kind of collaboration. Ultimately, that needs school authorities and patrons to open their doors to local school communities.

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