Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge, as did the Minister of State, the contribution and the performances of the Irish rugby team in the World Cup. They were absolutely fantastic. They brought us happiness and joy and, ultimately, heartbreak. I have no doubt they will rise again. I wish Johnny Sexton, who has been an amazing servant for Irish rugby, the very best in his future journey.

I welcome the time allocated in the Dáil to the speak on Government's capital support for sports facilities. We are speaking on statements on the importance of continued and enhanced capital support for sports facilities. I feel that statements on the continued underinvestment in sport facilities by the Government would have been more fitting title.

Ireland, as the Minister of State said, is a sports-mad country. Sport is in every single corner of the country in communities throughout the State. We have seen record League of Ireland attendances, with stadiums selling out days in advance. What we also see at the vast majority of League of Ireland venues is the legacy of decades of neglect by successive Governments. In many cases, stadiums are in an appalling state. There is an ongoing issue with the lack of facilities for female players at grassroots level. Facilities are simply not fit for purpose. As a result, League of Ireland football is struggling to reach its full potential. There is massive potential for the League of Ireland and we have to invest in it and support it.

I must ask where is the enhanced capital support for League of Ireland facilities. There is not one mention of the great work of the League of Ireland in this year's budget. The FAI put together a compelling case for the need to invest in sport. It highlighted the immense potential that Irish football has. Despite the best efforts of League of Ireland clubs and the FAI, this potential has barely been tapped into. As I have said, there is massive potential. They are operating with one hand tied behind their back due to the lack of support from the Government.

Last week we heard the exciting news that Ireland would co-host the 2028 European Championships. This is a great achievement and it will be a great showcase for Ireland. It will be brilliant to see games hosted here in Dublin and in Casement Park in Belfast. Last week we also had the announcement of a legacy fund for the European Championships in 2028. It is essential that when the tournament is over there is a genuine legacy left behind to support the grassroots and League of Ireland football. If I am to be honest, the figure cited last week of €6.2 million is concerning. When we look at the costs associated with the development of Dalymount Park, €6.2 million seems like a drop in the ocean in the needs of Irish football. The cost associated with this one-off tournament is an amount of money that the League of Ireland or the grassroots of Irish football could only dream of.

A national sports facility strategy at the heart of capital spending on sport facilities would ensure the most effective delivery of sports facilities in terms of costs and need. While successive Governments have spoken about a national sports facility strategy, none has ever gone as far as developing and delivering such as strategy. Over the past two decades, more than €1 billion has been invested in sport facilities. That is welcome. It has been done through programmes such as the sports capital local authority swimming pool programme and the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. Despite the large volume of money invested in sport, there remains no national strategy on the delivery and expansion of sports facilities. All are ad hocprojects depending greatly on the interests of the Minister or Government of the day.

The national sports policy gave a commitment to publish a full audit of all sports facilities throughout the State by 2020. It is three years overdue and there is still no sign of it. Perhaps the Minister of State will update it.

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