Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here in person to take this Topical Issue. He is familiar with the teams in our area as we share a constituency, which include Balrath Girls and Boys Football Club, East Meath United and Laytown United. Balrath Girls and Boys Football Club alone has around 120 players affected by this issue. When I speak to coaches, they all talk about keeping the girls involved. Many of them are going through a lot in their own lives but there is such a benefit of team sport and giving them consistent quality football. I am interested in what leverage the Minister of State has to influence this. It feels like a bureaucratic, "computer says no" decision. There needs to be a resolution.

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