Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome the Minister to the House. He missed one of those magic moments on the Order of Business earlier when our esteemed colleague, Senator Mansergh, pointed out that life expectancy had increased significantly in this country since 1997, a fact with which everyone must concur. However, he implied that this was due to the current Government. I am sure the Minister will not dispute this, but the rest of us are wondering whether it is true. If the current Government continues for another ten years, perhaps we might all live to be 100.

In terms of the Irish person's interest in sport, tá TG4, faoi láthair, ag taispeáint Wimbledon. That is a superb feature of Irish life. Before TG4 was established, people regarded it as something that might be relevant to the backwoods people of Kerry, my county and the Minister's, and other people would not be using it much. However, they have seen it cater for sports interests of all kinds. It is great to see that TG4 can take something like the Tour de France or Wimbledon, go to the trouble to introduce new terminology and bring a whole new audience to an Irish language broadcast. This is interesting in showing how sport is central to our culture in all types of ways.

I must congratulate the Minister and his officials on the legislation, which I very much welcome. I do not share the reservations of my colleague, Senator Quinn, in this regard. He has raised relevant questions and I look forward to the Minister's response. However, I am happy to go along with the Bill as outlined. It is most important that this is focused on professionals, amateurs and the general public. If we are to get value from involvement in sport, apart from life expectancy, this legislation should bring about better quality of life and a greater appreciation and love of living which comes from sport. In terms of a centre of excellence, one of the problems is that we do not encourage sport early enough. If I was to take an oppositional line on this and recall what has happened in the past ten years, we have gone backwards, as the Minister has said many times, in terms of international success, although we are starting to come backagain.

When this country was on the ropes in 1987-88, there were major cutbacks in primary education. One of those cutbacks which the Government felt obliged to initiate, targeted what was considered to be the least important part of the school building, the general purpose room, as the centre for games, etc. I believe we lost out during that period of time. Most schools are now getting those areas back again, and in the context of our weather it is crucial to have indoor access to sport. For that reason, I ask the Minister to reflect carefully on what Senator Cummins had to say. The biggest single influence on Irish sporting activity and achievement is the weather. We need all-weather access to sports facilities and we are very slow to recognise that. Senator Mansergh mentioned horse racing, for which there is a great love throughout Ireland. However, we do not have an all-weather racing track, although one is being built in Dundalk; the sooner it is completed, the better. One is not enough, however, for an industry that is so central to many aspects of Irish life and agri-industry, and we should have been on the ball much earlier.

Over the years I have seen many former all-Ireland medalists from our county in poor shape with their hips, knees, etc. The reason is very simple. When amateurs became almost professional in their approach the game, in the 1970s in particular, we did not know enough. We did not have warm-ups, cool-downs or whatever. Many of our elite athletes in the area of Gaelic games and other areas suffered accordingly. It was nobody's fault — we simply did not have the information we required. That is why it is important to get ahead in this now. A number of speakers referred to diet. Sporting success hinges on the approach to exercise, diet and issues that were not discussed in the context of sport two decades ago.

I would like the Bill to look beyond the elite athletes and to provide for what happens to them when they have reached their peak and retired from professional international or intercounty competition. There should be more opportunities for them, apart from golf. Every former athlete I meet seems to be golfing. There must be a host of other activities in which they can participate — sailing, walking, etc. — which we should also support. I raised with the Minister before my belief that Ireland should be the European home of sailing. If counties were equipped with marinas, particularly along the west coast, it would bode well for that particular sport. This is an area that should be examined, getting people into the water, including the inland waterways. Fishing is an area in which there is continuing development. It is one of the mass sports in Ireland at the moment. I saw the figures involved recently and they were very high.

An interesting area in which the Cathaoirleach would be interested was highlighted in the newspapers over the weekend. An article referred to what would happen when Gaelic sports and the World Cup collided. The reality is that there were more people in Thurles last Sunday, for the Munster final, never mind Croke Park, than there were at the England versus Ecuador match. Here we have the most popular sport in the world, but it drew fewer people to the world series of games than the Munster final attracted in Thurles. Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh often refers to the 70,000 or more people in Croke Park and last weekend's attendance figure was probably the highest sporting attendance figure in the world. We do not think about these things, but it proves the point the Minister made, that we have an extraordinary interest in sport, and that people will follow, support and be part of it. It is the reason the GAA need never worry.

I disagree, fundamentally — and will be prepared to have a small wager afterwards with the Minister — that Lansdowne Road will be up and running some time in 2009. I am prepared to wager a good deal on that and I am not sure what will happen in that situation. Already, a 29-month construction period only leaves seven months for the whole planning process and the endless series of objections and hearings before An Bord Pleanála, the High Court, etc. I certainly do not see that happening, but I wish the Minister well anyway. As someone who has been attending international soccer matches for the past 30 years, I look forward to the first one next year in Croke Park.

Section 18 is an issue for all of us in the House. The Minister's speech states that the section contains the standard prohibitions on members of the authority holding political office at local, national or European level. However, these are not standard prohibitions, but are put in by the Parliamentary Counsel. Every time I ask a Minister if a particular section is his or her idea, I am told it is put in by the Parliamentary Counsel on his or her own initiative.

It is worthwhile considering why the section is there, which is to stop a Minister putting people from his or her own party into various positions. Nonetheless, it does much more than that. I have no difficulty with a prohibition on a Minister or Department promoting a member of a local authority or the Oireachtas. However, the section also prohibits those who happen to be members of a local authority or the Oireachtas being nominated by other organisations. For example, the IRFU cannot nominate Deputy Glennon and the GAA cannot nominate Deputy Deenihan, our esteemed county colleague. Who could argue with those nominations? I could see why people would object if the nomination was made by the Minister or through a political process, but why should an organisation be deprived the experience of such people?

The Minister should ask himself this question every time a Bill is brought forward. It is demeaning to members of local authorities and the Oireachtas and it gives the impression they cannot be trusted. It feeds into the anti-public representative feeling that is widespread. There is no reason for this section as written. There may be a reason for it if it prevents nomination by political parties and Ministers. I ask the Minister to reconsider it.

I support this Bill and wish it well.