Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is committed to doing that with priority for inclusion and disadvantage and we will continue with that.

Regarding Deputy Carey's point, discussions are ongoing. Massive ambition has been shown by voluntary clubs throughout the country. These are not professional clubs, as Sinn Féin has alleged. Voluntary clubs in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of cities and everywhere benefited from sports capital grants, and Clare is no exception. I will be working with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to maximise that budget.

Deputy Matthews spoke about swimming pools. There is a national swimming strategy under review and I will be in correspondence with him about that. I share his ambition to bring swimming to every part of the country, including in his constituency.

Deputy Durkan might know that my granny got married in the little chapel in Kilcock, which is in the Meath East constituency. The Kildare North constituency is very important to me because many of my constituents take part in sports in that constituency. It is not just our constituencies that will benefit; it is every constituency in the country. We need to help and champion everyone who wants to take part in sports. We need to help these communities in cities, towns and rural areas to benefit from this because we know the importance of sports. This summer will be a wonderful time for sport in the country. Throughout the year there are major sporting events. The themes need to be inclusion and increased participation, and to ensure the facilities Deputy Andrews mentioned are in place. We will also work with local authorities and national governing bodies on that.

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