Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deirtear sa Ghaeilge "Tús maith leath na hoibre". Sílim go raibh tús maith againn ar maidin leis an giota craice a bhí againn ní ba luaithe. It is always more craic when Senator Norris is in the Chamber. I am sorry to see him go, but I hope he does not mind that I will consult my notes from time to time during my contribution.

Will the Leader invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the Chamber to address us on the benefits of sport, not just in terms of health but also in its social capacity? Senator Ó Ríordáin mentioned a number of concerns. Sport and participation in sport can benefit communities and individuals.

Many of our athletes are heading to Rio. We are just coming off the back of a fantastic Euros campaign. The Irish athletes who are heading to Brazil will lift the spirits of the entire country. The Irish hockey team received a great farewell from the Northern Executive's junior Ministers. In Belfast, our boxing heroes, many of whom will be familiar to Senators - Paddy Barnes, Mick Conlan, Brendan Irvine and Steven Donnelly - were seen off and wished every success recently. What fantastic ambassadors for our country and people. They are ordinary guys and girls, many of them from the same streets and parishes that we have had the privilege of representing. I wish these athletes all the best.

We are heading into a break, but could the Minister attend the House post our recess to expand on how to utilise and capitalise on the goodwill that will be engendered across the country, particularly among young people when they see our sporting stars, many of whom are amateurs, in order to create a new generation of heroes as opposed to thinking only selfishly from a sporting or medal-winning point of view? How can we expand on this and utilise sport as a tool against some of the socioeconomic issues facing our communities, be they urban or rural?