Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Maybe I will continue the trend of listing out clubs. It is important we discuss the continued Government investment in sports facilities throughout Ireland. Before I do, however, I want to put on record my appreciation for the Irish rugby team and their efforts in the Rugby World Cup. Obviously, we all wish they had succeeded further and they do too but I thank, in particular, the captain, Johnny Sexton, for his sterling career and his contribution over the years. We wish him well.

Over the past few 20 years, Ireland’s sports infrastructure at a local, regional and national level has been transformed with Government support. Nationally, one can point to the large-scale projects such as Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium, but there has also been extensive investment at local level. In my area, for example, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, as the Minister of State will be aware, we have seen the development of new facilities or the upgrading of facilities in Cherrywood, Loughlinstown, Sallynoggin, Ballyogan, Blackrock, Shankill, Mounttown and Ballybrack, to name but a few. These new high-quality facilities have transformed the experience of a generation of children getting involved in sport.

Given the current macro-economic situation and the significant budget surplus forecast, it is critical we use this window to continue to transform sports and community infrastructure across the country. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and its sports partnership team has done amazing work partnering with local clubs to secure grants and develop facilities. Credit must go to Barry Dempsey and Shane McArdle of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown sports development and sports partnership for their efforts in this regard.

However, the message from clubs, volunteers and people working in the sector is clear. They need more funding and less red tape. The additional funding in budget 2024 is welcome. More than €183 million has been allocated to sports and recreation. The increased funding is designed to boost participation in sport at all levels of ability and across all sporting activities. It is great to see a doubling of funding for women in sport from €2 million to €4 million, and prioritising of applications that improve facilities for women and people with disabilities. Sport has multiple benefits - from the pride we feel when witnessing our high-performance athletes on the world stage, to witnessing our own kids playing sports, to the positive impact on our society's physical health and mental well-being. Sport is fantastic for mental health, well-being and confidence. It is a great leveller and I ask that the Minister of State continues to support local clubs in disadvantaged areas. I heard him speak about the criteria and his ambition for women's sports in particular. That is welcome, but so is prioritising and targeting disadvantage because sport is a great leveller.

I think of clubs in my own area. Clubs like Monkstown and Ballybrack boxing clubs do amazing work in the community with relatively little support. Athletes from Monkstown boxing club have enjoyed worldwide success and great credit is due to all the volunteers in that club. It is also important to support lifelong participation in sport. As we earlier discussed investment in healthcare, many chronic illnesses can be avoided where people continue to remain active and participate in sport. I welcome the Sport for All approach, aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to partake equally in sport and physical activity with an emphasis on accessibility, diversity and inclusion.

I will turn to the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund. I understand only €3 million of the €86.4 million allocated in 2020 to 33 projects has been drawn down. Even allowing for delays caused by Covid, this is disappointing. However, I am encouraged by reports that about half of the 33 projects should be in a position to draw down funds by the end of this year. This is something that needs to be monitored closely, and flexibility sought from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if necessary. We have seen that issues with inflation costs can be overcome, such as with the school building programme. Where there is political will and a practical approach is taken, results are achieved. It would be a great shame if we missed this once in a generation window to expand our national sporting infrastructure. I finally want to thank the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, for his efforts and commitment in his role, including taking the time to visit constituencies and meet with sporting organisations and council officials to see facilities for himself. The Minister of State will be aware that we went out to visit a number of clubs in my own constituency including my own club, Cuala. It is welcome and I thank him for his time. I look forward to continuing to work with him and the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, over the coming months.

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