Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree that investment in sport, physical activity and cultural opportunities yields huge benefits for young people. That is why we put significant investment into all aspects of this Department for 2023, in particular given that one of the major challenges facing sports clubs and grassroots organisations is around energy costs in the coming months, so they can maintain their level of activity to promote participation. That is why we have secured an overall €60 million fund for community, arts, Gaeltacht and sporting organisations, with €35 million directly for sport so we can mitigate some of the cost increases and support the membership and continued volunteerism that is central.

As I said, the cost of this proposal would be around €750 million across all age cohorts. It is not something we are immediately able to do but it is not something we would rule out into the future. Any initiative to promote sport, physical activity and cultural opportunity is something we can have a discussion on.

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