Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

It is great to hear that the Minister of State will be coming to the club. Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club has a significant history of producing Olympians not just for the northside but for all of Ireland, such as Dick Hooper, Mick Clohisey and Sophie Becker as well as paralympians Orla Comerford and David McNally, and Brian Fay, who I went to school with. With over 850 members, the club still has a waiting list for juveniles. There are way more running tracks on the southside. I believe the estimate is six or seven public tracks compared with two public tracks on the northside of Dublin. I do not know if this is because previous northside politicians did not raise it enough with the Department. Will the Minister of State commit to possibly looking into Dublin City Council adding a 400 m running track to St. Anne's Park to be used by future Olympians? More than 90,000 people live with 4 km of St. Anne's Park. Is there any chance that the Department would investigate that?

See this speech in context