Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I really welcome some of those initiatives. As somebody who represents an area with a number of communities in which a lot of households are on low incomes and there are areas of deprivation, we look to sports facilities and sports clubs to help achieve social cohesion. Increasingly, we are seeing the benefits of sports participation for mental health and in creating a sense of belonging. That is just as real for women and girls as it is for boys and men. I particularly like to see championing of women who have been successful in sport. I recommend to the Department that it continue to champion the very successful women we saw in the Olympic Games and in other sporting events. They have done so well and can act as positive role models for women and girls in communities like mine by helping them to see sport as something they can do their whole life and as a real profession.

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