Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Cork's heroic victory over Limerick last weekend will go down in history as one of the most exciting games of the modern time but thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people were not able to watch it, including diehard GAA people and hurling people who love the game. So far, not one of Cork's hurling championship matches have been on television. The games against Clare and Waterford were also crackers but people did not get an opportunity to see them. This decision by the GAA and by RTÉ is a disgrace and flies in the face of all the volunteers who have given their time and commitment to the association. It costs €12 to watch a match which, for people on limited incomes or budgets, for young people whose parents might not be interested and for other people who are struggling to pay their bills, is a lot. A lot people cannot afford this. There were three Cork hurling games and the Cork versus Kerry football match so people in Cork would have had to pay €48 to watch them all.

In today's edition of The Echo, the elderly rights campaigner, Mr. Paddy O'Brien, condemned the GAA for what it is doing to older people and to volunteers who have given their lives to the association. I spoke to a former Cork hurler in Blackpool on Saturday. This man has limited mobility and is on crutches. He played in an All-Ireland with Cork in 1984 and he has senior all-Ireland medals with his club, Glen Rovers. He was going to a pub to watch the match. This is a man who has graced Croke Park. He was going to the pub because he could not watch the game on television. Money was not the issue for him. The issue was that he does not have a computer or a smartphone to watch it so his friends had to bring him out. I spoke to another man on the northside who played hurling all his life. He listened to the game on 103 FM. I thank and commend 103 FM for providing proper public service broadcasting, unlike RTÉ. If it were not for 103 FM, people in Cork would not have been able to listen to live coverage of the match.

Last year, 1 million people watched the all-Ireland hurling final. That is the level of love for hurling in this country. Instead of fostering the game, as the GAA, especially, and also RTÉ, the public sector broadcaster, should be doing, they are putting it behind a paywall to make money. The question is whether the GAA is more worried about making money or promoting hurling.

The number of GAA players is decreasing. In 2019, 22,514 club teams were signed up to the association. Between October 2021 and September 2022, that number fell to 20,994, which was a decrease of 1,520 teams. It is no wonder clubs are not fielding teams. Last weekend, the under-15s hurling féile took place in Cork. It is the most prestigious underage hurling competition on the island. I know of two clubs that did not field teams last weekend because players were playing other codes. Instead of the GAA promoting hurling and getting more young people to play the game, it is putting matches behind a paywall for money. It is a scandal.

I love the GAA. I am a lifelong member and my family is steeped in the association. I love hurling and I love the GAA. It is an unbelievably good sporting organisation. However, too many people in Croke Park are living in a bubble. GAA members are not professionals. We are volunteers. We are based in the parish and the community. That is what the GAA should represent; not big business, not big money but the love of hurling.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, to which I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. It is important to note that the GAA, like all national governing bodies, NGBs, in sport, is an independent, autonomous body. The management of broadcasting and commercial rights is entirely a matter for the association. The GAA, like all NGBs, is free to enter into commercial agreements to generate revenue to support the continued development of its sport from grassroots to elite levels.

A challenge for all sports bodies, including the GAA, is to strike a balance between generating revenue through broadcasting rights and ensuring accessibility to as wide an audience as possible, particularly those who might not have the technical know-how to engage with a streaming service. There is a vital need to promote sport generally, and active participation in sport in particular. One way to do so is to give access to live sporting events. There is also a need to ensure there are sufficient levels of coverage of our national games. In this regard, there has been much discussion about the need to promote hurling, in particular. Widespread free-to-air availability is a part of this.

I appreciate that fans will want to see more games but it is important to consider the practicalities of broadcasting those games. Public service broadcasters are not dedicated sports channels. They have a statutory obligation to meet the expectations of all people and to provide a broad schedule that caters for the interests of the whole population, on all subject matters and via all programme types, not just sport. In saying that, there is, rightly, still a significant amount of sport available to view on free-to-air television. In the case of Gaelic games, I understand there was no reduction in the number of games shown free to air by RTÉ in 2023. It is worth considering that if GAAGO did not exist, a number of matches would not be aired at all.

I understand that between Friday and Sunday last, there were 12 GAA matches played from under-20s to senior level. Six of those matches were available on free-to-air television, with a further three available on GAAGO. More than 300 Gaelic games matches will be shown live on free-to-air television this year. They include matches shown on TG4, which has expanded its Gaelic games broadcasting over the years and now shows national league, club, intervarsity and underage championship games, as well as women's football. A quick look at the television schedule shows there will be Gaelic games coverage on TG4 every day this week, including three live matches. In addition, two live matches will be shown on RTÉ next weekend, as well as highlights shows.

Obviously, sports fans would like to have more games available free to air, especially those involving their own counties. However, it simply may not be possible to broadcast all matches. The number and frequency of games, and the potential for clashes, are issues of the sporting calendar, not the television schedule. Recent changes in championship structure and season duration are bound to result in fixture congestion. The scheduling is a matter for the GAA to address. It must work with its broadcast partner, RTÉ, to decide which games are broadcast. This is not something in which the Government can or should be involved.

With regard to the broadcasting policy element of guaranteeing free-to-air availability of sporting events, there is provision in national and European legislation to designate major events as free to air if they are deemed to be in line with statutory criteria. The legislation also provides for regular reviews of the list of events that are designated as free to air. A review is currently under way. It included a public and stakeholder consultation, which was launched by the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, last January to invite feedback on a number of new events being considered for free-to-air designation. While the consultation phase is closed, there is now an independent analysis and assessment of the outcome of the consultation.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not accept the Minister of State's assertion that there is no role for the Government in this matter. Hurling is not just another sport. It is our national game. It is part of our culture and tradition. It is what Irish people from the island of Ireland and all across the world associate with being Irish. To say the Government has no part to play in it, while other sports are on every television channel, is not acceptable. We must protect our game.

Hurling is a minority sport. Fewer and fewer people are playing it, especially at a higher level. For the past two weekends, there has been no senior Munster or Leinster championship game shown on television. That is the truth of it. RTÉ is a public broadcaster. Its job is, or should be, to show hurling. If it does not want to do that, other organisations should be allowed to do so. The Minister of State said there has been no decrease in the number of games shown. There was uproar last year when this happened. The review should have been finished earlier and the results should have been published.

There are solutions to be found. Will the Government increase funding to the GAA to ensure it does not have to sell its soul, and the souls of GAA members, for money? GAAGO will probably bring in approximately €4 million. Are we interested in promoting our national game or are we interested in profit? That is the question. I am really disappointed by what is happening. In every city, town, village and parish, the GAA was the mainstay of communities. It needs to go back to its grassroots and back to basics.

There is so much the Government should be doing. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister have made comments on this issue. We need less talk now and more action. I spoke on this matter last year, I raised it again this year and I speak on it once more tonight. What has happened is a disgrace and a scandal. I am thinking not of myself but about every person out there who ever played the game, ran a team, washed a set of jerseys or lined a field. I am talking about the people who are at the heart of our great association. I am really disappointed in the new president's comments. I believe, as a lot of people do, that he is a great man to bring about change in the association. However, he seems to be listening too much to the money men in Croke Park. We have to get back to where we came from and to what made the association so great. What has happened is wrong and it is time to reverse it.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I referred to the independent analysis of the consultation that took place.

This will inform which events will be brought to the EU for approval, as required. Already, all-Ireland football, hurling and camogie finals are designated for free-to-air coverage. The current review involves an examination of the possibility of designating a number of additional GAA events, such as the quarter- and semi-finals of the All-Ireland series and provincial finals. A number of these are traditionally broadcast free to air already, but we are right to examine the merit of protecting or possibly extending this free-to-air status.

Upon detailed consideration of this report, the final list of events to be designated will be laid before the Houses and will then be submitted to the European Commission for its consideration and approval. What is very important to bear in mind with the designation process is that it is not intended to designate an entire competition or all of one particular sport's events. Rather, the intention is to ensure free-to-air coverage of major national events and events involving national teams. In addition, it is important to remember that designation does not guarantee coverage. It does not and cannot oblige a broadcaster to purchase rights to an event. It is designed to protect certain significant events and ensure they are available free to air.

There are many strong views on this issue and, as such, the debate is to be welcomed. What is important is that the concerns raised by Members of this House, and the sporting public, need to be considered by the GAA and responded to accordingly.