Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome David Hall and Michael Burgoyne from the west Cork schoolboys' and schoolgirls' leagues, who made the journey up from west Cork today to the Gallery for the debate. West Cork boasts an ever-increasing footballing population, with a current active player register of 3,000, from under eight to adulthood. In recent years, the league has gone from strength to strength in terms of participation and success. Its academy recently achieved third place in the SFAI's most prestigious annual competition. To put this into perspective, it draws on a pool of 200 players, of whom 10%, or 20 players, enter and represent the league in competition. The area has to compete with large urban centres such as Cork, Dublin and Waterford, which have thousands of players to choose from and enjoy facilities that west Cork can only dream of. Furthermore, the larger clubs receive significant financial support. Despite the odds, those in west Cork have gone from being ranked last in the country, at 30th, to third, as well as winning several national and regional titles in various age categories.

It has been disconcerting and disheartening to see a distinct lack of recognition of the efforts of the boys and girls of west Cork in the west Cork schoolboys' and schoolgirls' leagues. West Cork's grassroots leagues and clubs are strategically very well placed to really benefit from multi-agency funding and the mix of funding sought as part of the FAI facilities strategy countywide. Collaboration would help them to deliver some legacy projects that would support continued growth and cater for the exponential growth in participation in the game of football. It would also serve to meet the wider health, wellbeing and social development of west Cork.

I pay tribute to the many players, parents and volunteers who help train soccer teams the length and breadth of west Cork, from Bandon and Kinsale to Mizen AFC. It would be remiss of me in my last few seconds not to pay tribute to one of the finest trainers and youth development workers of Bunratty United AFC, Martin Briscoe, who passed away several years ago. He put so much time and effort into volunteering at the club and into west Cork soccer. It is people like him who have promoted the game of soccer and made it what it is. Of course, he and I had a very close affiliation because we both supported the great soccer club Arsenal.

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