Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will start by addressing the issue on which the previous Senator finished. I would agree with him totally regarding gambling and online betting. The vast majority of betting is now done online. We are dragging our heels as regards increasing the revenue we should be getting from that source. I have had reports from a number of people who are worried about gambling and the dangers of online betting. Now people who go into bookies are faced with two or three arcade betting machines, which are illegal, and the Revenue Commissioners are doing nothing about them. They have been creeping in for the last number of months. I have had complaints from quite a number of people that these machines are now being placed in bookies' offices where they should not be. I wonder why the Revenue Commissioners have not moved against the companies that have introduced these machines.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats. Certainly, when our sporting heroes achieve success, be they our county teams in the GAA or our national rugby, soccer or other teams, it raises the spirit of the nation. That does not apply only to those sports but also to all the other sports have been mentioned, including horse racing and athletics. I also include our golfing heroes and especially our boxing heroes - men and women - who have been the most successful team in Olympic sports for Ireland over the last number of Olympics. Success in any sport brings a great sense of pride to our nation. On that note, we have another world champion in walking, Robbie Heffernan, a man who put so much work and effort, like all sportsmen, into the preparation for the success he achieved.

The importance of physical education in our schools is paramount for many reasons, including health, fitness and educational reasons. We should have more joined-up thinking between the Minister's Department, the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills. I welcome the move to include the subject of physical education in the new junior certificate but, like the Minister, I hope it can become an exam subject for leaving certificate in the same way as art and music. Why should it not be? There should be a greater emphasis and joined-up thinking between the Department with responsibility for sport and the Department of Education and Skills in that regard.

We talk about all our national teams and our sporting heroes, but I would like to praise the volunteers, be they in soccer or whatever sport, the ones who mark the pitches and the ones who wash the dirty jerseys and so on every week. They are the unsung heroes where sport is concerned. I started my engagement with sport when I was involved mainly in schoolboy soccer. I saw the work that people did in all the areas to help young people to progress. I was delighted to become president of the schoolboys' FAI and the FAI youths during the time of my involvement. I must admit that I am a sports fanatic and that applies to all sports. I point to the importance of the work of the volunteers and of the sports capital programme under which we can give funding, be it even a small amount, to these clubs that are in every corner of the country. It means a great deal to them to be seen to get some support from the Government when they apply for funding. They certainly appreciate it and put it to good use.

The Government is providing a considerable amount of money for sport, with more than €46 million allocated this year. In these trying times it is difficult to find large amounts of money and I commend the Minister for securing the funds. I hope the same amount of money will be forthcoming subsequent to the sale of the national lottery. I understand the same percentage is built into the contract with its new operators. I am old enough to remember when the national lottery was established with the purpose of supporting health and, mainly, sport projects. The money has since been spread across a range of areas, but we should never forget the importance of sport and such activities should receive their fair share from the national lottery.

I commend the Irish Sports Council for the work it has done. It is led by a Waterford man and an Olympic hero, John Treacy. Senators have been demanding a debate on sport for a long time. I am glad that so many women have contributed to the debate because women are giving a lead in many sports. I refer to women like Sonia O'Sullivan, Katie Taylor and the women's Six Nations rugby team who won last year. It should be acknowledged that three or four women Senators have spoken in this debate. We do not hear as many men speaking on so-called women's issues when they are debated in the House. This has been mentioned to me on several occasions.