Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)

My eagerness to speak on this subject stems from the fact that I understand sport has an incredible impact, not only in our communities and in the lives of the people who get to benefit from it. When we debate the impact of the sports capital programme, the large-scale sport infrastructure fund and the major sporting events programme, it is important that we talk honestly about how we measure success when it comes to sport in this State. Recent discussions have taken place in regard to the NFL, for example. There was a conversation about €10 million being invested, which brought in 30,000 visitors to the city and all that stems from that. I see the logic of this and I do not wish to cast aspersions on it. Those events have an economic impact that is worth acknowledging. The same goes for the Ryder Cup. The Government recently allocated €56 million to the Ryder Cup, which takes place in two years’ time. I now see the billionaire J.P. McManus coming out and calling for another €30 million of State investment on top of what has been given.

I get that. We can quantify those types of events in terms of the hotels that are filled and the number of tourists brought in. I absolutely screamed with delight and pride the other day when Shane Lowry scored. I appreciate all of those factors, which can be quantified in terms of hotel rooms and so on. However, the type of investment in sporting infrastructure, football pitches and facilities for young people who will probably never achieve a medal, never play in the Premier League or never see me cheering for them on a Sunday on the television is more difficult to quantify. At the same time, it is infinitely more important because it is about what happens in our communities.

For example, in Dublin Central in the north inner city, which I am proud to represent, and in the south inner city, there is no football pitch or GAA pitch. If someone wants to play rugby on the north side of Dublin, where exactly would they go? The facilities are all over on the south side. There is a dearth that requires examination. Are we expecting people who are probably already struggling to fill out the forms to get the cultural and collaborative capital that is needed for that? We need to see the gap that is there and then seek to fill it. That is where investment really matters - when, as a State, we identify gaps and go in to try to penetrate through them.

We need only look at some of the athletes we have been most proud of in the last couple of weeks. Kate O'Connor said recently that her father would soon have to return to work on a job share arrangement simply to provide a steady income while still coaching her towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That is one of Ireland's brightest medal hopes talking about the fact that her dad will have to go back to a job share so we can potentially scream with delight for her during the Olympics in a couple of years’ time. Investments need to be made across the board. Some require event management, such as what happened over the weekend and will happen in two years, and some just require leadership. We have to invest in top athletes like Kate O'Connor and also in the people who will probably never become athletes but will develop civic engagement and civic responsibility. They need changing rooms and facilities, and they need the State to take an interest. That also reaps rewards, just in very different ways.

A lot of good work comes from this programme and I believe we can expand on that. I ask the Government to look at where we can make an impact, which would bring its own rewards.

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