John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The Minister of State noted many of the challenges that sports groups and local authorities meet in the development of facilities. The programme for Government also includes a complementary commitment to conduct a nationwide audit of sports facilities to address shortages in areas where there is a population of over 1,500. The audit will probably find a deficit in the provision of playing spaces in urban areas. I am not familiar with the locations but I have heard from some of my colleagues and from the media that there are significant parts of Dublin city which have no active recreational spaces for clubs to pursue their interests. That is something we need to challenge. It also happens outside Dublin. The demand for land has led to increased pressure in terms of its price. That makes it difficult for voluntary clubs to be able to purchase the land, as the Minister of State noted in his response. The viability of buying land for sporting clubs in our major urban areas is a really significant challenge.

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