James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely thank the Minister of State for the information provided. I also thank the Government for what has been done in this year's budget. It was very well received and the Minister of State referred to a point I was going to make about the dropping level of participation by many people when it comes to fundraising in club activities and volunteering activities. This is causing huge knock-on consequences for sporting clubs around the country. I hope that, post Covid-19, this will be addressed in the medium term as if not, there will be long-term complications for sporting organisations nationwide. Declining energy costs are not happening. While they have come down from the peak, it is a concern and the I would argue that many energy companies in Ireland have the cheek to sponsor sporting clubs and organisations while not passing on the market price for electricity. The cheaper rates have not been passed on. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing, massive concern for clubs of a small and large scale. I ask that the Minister of State give this issue his full attention. I wish him success in his new role. I am sure he will play a blinder.

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