Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are in the run-up to an election. I hope the FAI, DDSL and the SFAI are listening. One issue has brought the Opposition and the Government together, speaking with one voice, which is girls' access to the DDSL. I hope the message goes out loud and clear that Dáil Éireann was united today and that every girl deserves a chance to participate. People in committees should not decide that some girls' team cannot go into the league to which other clubs in the area belong. I met the FAI representatives. I will praise it where praise is due and I praise the staff of the FAI, who work within very old structures. I agree with what was said about the leagues.

Volunteers run the leagues but accommodation needs to be made for the small number of teams left out. Some would say, on one side of the argument, it is their own fault because they were too late, but the reality is these are volunteer clubs and are not expected to know they have to apply to a league when their former league collapses. Let us have common sense and get the word out that the Opposition and Government have come together on this. It is too important an issue. Some journalists have dismissed this as a local constituency issue but it is much wider, as seen in the constituencies represented here today. It cannot be allowed to happen and will not be allowed to happen in future.

On leadership in affiliates to sporting organisations, we insisted there would be a minimum of 40% women on the board of every sporting body. Some of the largest sporting organisations were last to the table on that but all have come to the table. All of them have that. One of the things not achieved under the previous memorandum of understanding was that they were supposed to get a minimum number of women on committees below the top. I think having 40% of women on the main board will lead to that happening anyway but I can confirm it is something the Government will request in renewing the MOU. We all support football in this House and support the work done to increase participation. We all work with football clubs around the country to make sure they maximise their grants under the community sports facilities fund. We welcome that and want that but this has to be resolved. I thank the Deputies for raising it.

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