Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the movers of this very good motion. I take the opportunity to wish good luck to the mná of the Republic of Ireland football squad who have flown out to Australia for the country's first ever appearance in the FIFA Women's World Cup. I wish them good success and enjoyment.

The FAI's newly published strategic analysis and vision for the next 15 years details that the association requires €862 million to modernise facilities and standards. Goodness knows I want to see that happening in all clubs. We have some great clubs in Tipperary and great organisers such as Richard Power of the Tipperary Southern and District League and Ned O'Connor, a former county manager, who did great work with John Delaney, let us face it, Denis Lehane and others. These people went into schools and organised the sport. We are playing a catch-up game. We have clubs like St. Michael's AFC in Tipperary town, which is world-renowned. Cahir Park is 105 or 106 years old and has fabulous facilities. We have Clonmel Town FC and Cashel Town FC. In the rural areas, there is Burncourt Celtic and Fr. Sheehy's GAA. There are many clubs that do tremendous work with nothing. I salute the men and women who support the clubs and teams. They are the real movers.

Audits carried out of each county's pitches have shown that almost 40% of them have temporary dressing rooms or toilets. For more than 20% of clubs, their spend on pitch maintenance falls below €1,000. Old Bridge FC is a another Clonmel club, which is having huge trouble with trespass, with animals breaking in and everything else. The EU average expenditure on sport is 0.8% of GDP, whereas Ireland's figure is 0.4%. We are in bad company with Malta and Bulgaria at the bottom of the spending league. It is very sad.

Sport, whether hurling, football, rugby, soccer, ladies' football or anything else, gives young people a great outlet. It helps with character formation and enables them to go on to be hugely successful. Tom Finnan of St. Michael's FC in Tipperary town is one of many people who have done fabulous work to which they have dedicated their life. I take this opportunity to extend my sympathy to John Delaney, who lost his father recently and his mother only a short time ago.

Governance ran amok and not only in the FAI, as we have seen. Ordinary people must be supported. Ní neart go cur le chéile. We must support the clubs at ground level and the people who are driving this and who have the vision and passion to achieve for Ireland and for all the individuals involved. You would never see the likes of such bonding. The people involved also do a huge amount of fundraising for charities.

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