Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I am glad that we are having this debate. We have had good debates on sport in the past and it gives us all an opportunity to go back on bóithrín na smaointe and reminiscences where sport is concerned. It also gives us an opportunity of making a contribution with the Minister present on why it is important to fund and support sport. I still recall the famous occasion in 1956 when Ronnie Delany lifted the spirits of the people. It seems like yesterday for those of us of a certain age who watched it on black and white television sets. but the reason I make reference to it is it is part of our folklore and who we are as a people. The power of sport and success in it to energise and lift people, particularly at a time of challenge and difficulty, is absolutely huge and cannot be measured in any way. We certainly cannot measure it in financial terms. I include Senator Eamonn Coghlan and the manner in which he raised the spirit of the nation and all of the other iconic figures. I remember having a chat with Dr. Pat O'Callaghan, an Olympic champion hammer thrower. I was very friendly with him. Looking back on the occasions when I spoke to him, he did not make a big issue of it. As he saw it, he did what he had an opportunity to do and the opportunity had come from the support he had received at local level. He took it from there and fine-tuned his skills.

If I look back on my young days - we all have the tendency to do so - when there was not even motor traffic on the roads, every opportunity we had we were out with a hurley playing games or we played cricket or rounders, as we called it, with the bottom of a barrel. The tradition of sport in Ireland is absolutely rooted in the community, which is its main strength.

It is in the main based on volunteerism, people creating pitches, facilities and racetracks through their own efforts. People are prepared to stand at the gate to collect the tickets and are also prepared to carry the jerseys when the team is going out on the field. Volunteerism is an absolutely vital part of sport. Today, I salute and acknowledge the parents who in the middle of a busy day still find time to bring their children to sport in the evening. That is widespread and a great many young people are involved in these activities. Sometimes one does not realise the extent of the involvement because what makes the headlines and dominates the news is professional sport. As Dr. Pat O'Callaghan would have reflected on all those years ago, all this activity is taking place on the ground. I salute the schools, in particular, the Irish Christian Brothers who did so much good work in promoting hurling, football, handball all those years ago. Everybody had an opportunity to participate, as generally speaking, a pitch was located next to the school. People were there to train youngsters and help buy the hurleys. They were others to take us to the games, whether it was for the Rice Cup, the Croke Cup or other competition. The Irish Christian Brothers made a significant contribution to sport at local and community level.

An Garda Síochána should also be mentioned, in particular when the members of the force are not being praised too highly, because the garda played a central role in local communities, extending beyond sport. Their role had a social aspect because they were providing an antidote to antisocial behaviour. When young people were at training in the company of the garda, they viewed him as a friend and confidant and not as somebody who was there to impose penalties. We should not underestimate the importance of that role because the statistics show that in areas where the gardaí were involved in sport in the community and were involved in the Garda League, the call out rate was 50% less. This is an example of antisocial behaviour being tackled in a positive way by activity that takes the young person who might otherwise be prone to taking different road and putting him into a challenging, competitive atmosphere which can be so energising in itself. An Garda Síochána played a very important role in that regard.

One report shows quite clearly, and I believe it to be correct, that for every euro we invest in sport there is a return to the economy of €1.50. If one had money to invest and was told one could get a return of 50% on it, one would say it would be an exceptionally good investment. It is one of the arguments against cuts in supports for sport, whether in the sports capital programme or the elite athlete area. While we must make ends meet and accept elements of austerity in a recession, there are some areas where we must make an exception and sport can be the exception, even on the financial front.

At the end of the day sport is about the wellbeing of the people. If one is involved in sport or even if only out walking at a fast pace, one is benefiting not only physically but mentally from the activity. Likewise one is benefiting from being on the playing pitch. Can one imagine what it does for emotions? Can one imagine how the people of Clare felt when County Clare won the All Ireland? As somebody said, there was not a cow milked for three months after that event. I have seen the impact of winning in County Clare and in my own area, County Tipperary. When a team achieves success at that level one does not need drugs to lift the people. That is the drug for the people because it energises, lifts and inspires them. I think inspiration is a very important word. I know the Minister faces the challenge of going to Cabinet and being able to argue on behalf of sport. What we are really saying is that we must lift ourselves out of an abyss of depression, to which we as a nation have sunk, as a result of the economic challenges.

Many people have had to emigrate as a result of economic pressure and very often the saving grace for them in their countries of adoption is the opportunity to go to a GAA club and excel in sport. It is also the lifeline back to home. I think the jury is out on the decision of the GAA to sell the broadcasting rights to Sky television. I hear both arguments, but there are 70 million people of Irish extraction throughout the world. It would be significant if the GAA could reach the diaspora. I think we owe it to the diaspora. The issue of older people in rural areas losing out, as has been mentioned, is a genuine argument. We hope that when the GAA council was discussing this issue that it took on board arguments on both sides. I am glad to see that RTE will have free view for major Gaelic games. It would be very wrong if that were not the case.

The amateur status in sport should not be under estimated. If people have the skills and ambition to go forward in professional sport, that is an important choice whether it be in international Rugby or soccer. The success of our professional sports people means a great deal to people.

There are different ways of looking at sport. Let us consider the economic advantage of sports tourism which brings in €1.8 billion annually. We are ideally situated to develop and enhance that sector. I do not think we should feel we are wasting time or money in doing that. By all means we must think of those involved in the higher echelons of sport but we must also consider all the wonderful sports facilities that we have on the ground. These facilities are being well used, but they must be maintained. There will an ongoing requirement for funding. There are others waiting in the queue to develop their facilities, having collected a percentage of the money and identified a piece of ground. I hope the capital grant will not be cut any further. It is very important that we nurture sport at community level. If we do that we have less antisocial behaviour, a reduction in the incidence of crime and fewer older people feeling threatened in their homes. Young people will also have a sense of purpose and worth. Surely that is what all legislation should be discussing. My gut feeling is that the Minister will not be too far off from what we are saying here today and will bring that same message back to Government.