Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I wish to share my time with Senator Minihan. I support the motion. I commend the Fine Gael group in the Seanad for putting down the motion and the Leader and my group for putting down a motion in parallel which agrees fully with their sentiments.

I was shocked, to say the least, that the IRFU proposes to exclude Connacht. I do not believe it will become a reality. It is totally unacceptable that the IRFU should turn its back on a province like Connacht in an era when rugby is expanding and developing in the province. I come from an area close to the Creggs rugby ground which has provided tremendous opportunities for people in the Creggs area. Many people in the Roscommon town area play in Creggs and I have a link through that.

We should be proud that the IRFU is a 32-county organisation, but it will no longer be a 32-county organisation if the IRFU excludes Connacht. Like the Leader of the Seanad and others, I went on the march last week. I was delighted to take part in that march which indicated the depth of opposition to the proposal. Deputy Jim Glennon also participated. Although he represents a Dublin constituency, he felt the injustice of the proposal strongly enough to come along.

The headquarters of the organisation are in Lansdowne Road and if the IRFU is short of funds, I would respectfully suggest that it dispose of that property and use the grounds in Lansdowne Road for office accommodation. It seems a reasonable point of view.