Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute. I wish to declare an interest. My grandson is a rising star for the Corinthians football club in Cork, as indeed are all of the under-8s whom I had the pleasure of watching play recently.

Irish football is at a crossroads and the direction it takes will be influenced by the support it receives from the State. That is a fact. Irish football has suffered from chronic underinvestment by the State. It is not the only sport that has suffered, but it has suffered much more than most. The reason and motivation behind this are simple – it is about politics and class. In addition, football and many other sports were attacked to the point that they even struggled to fundraise to pay for their running and to get facilities. As Deputy Daly pointed out, facilities are the silver bullet. They are what is needed.

I make these historical points because they partly explain the current difficulties the sport faces in terms of facilities and structures. We are all aware of the past governance issues, but the FAI is heading in the right direction now. In any event, the sport and its participants should not suffer because a small group at the top transgressed.

The success of our underage national teams and, in particular, our senior women’s team, who will represent Ireland for the first time at the Women’s World Cup in a few weeks’ time, points to the positivity that exists in Irish football. I wish Diane Caldwell and the team all the best.

I will point to the hard work of our League of Ireland teams. Doubtless, there has been success on the pitch in their performance in European competitions, but we must also congratulate them on the work they do in their academies and off the pitch. It is not for nothing that crowd sizes have been increasing by 23% year on year.

Football is undoubtedly owed its fair share of funding relative to participation and numbers and to right the wrongs of historical underinvestment.

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