Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

We might even allow him to score a point. I understand that Senator Eamonn Coghlan is in goals. Senator Harte will represent us at another sporting occasion elsewhere in the world. There are certainly sports people in the Chamber.

This is an important debate. Often, sectors like sports and the arts get squeezed, particularly at a time of economic necessity when people are watching how every euro is spent. The Minister of State referred to this. Sport has been important since the foundation of the State, from Gaelic games and Cumann Lúthcleas Gael to the sports in which we are now achieving, such as rugby and athletics, in which Senator Eamonn Coghlan gained worldwide acclaim representing Ireland in European, world and Olympic games.