Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for his contribution. I apologise for coming in and going out during this discussion but there is a committee meeting running concurrently. From our previous engagement, I learned that the Minister's is a massive portfolio so I will focus on what some would call a niche part of the sports area, namely, the need for the fast-tracking of the construction of a national cricket stadium in Malahide. I know the Minister is a fan of the game and is as aware of it as I am. Irish cricket has come ridiculously far in the past decade. It is only ten years since we beat Pakistan on St. Patrick's Day at the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. The game has come so far since the days when I was playing. It was a hidden sport then, restricted to certain parts of north County Dublin, Ulster and a few other parts of the country. It is now easily the fastest growing sport, with 50,000 boys, girls, men and women playing across the country. There are new clubs emerging regularly, such as the one in Cabinteely and the Sandyford Cricket Club in Marlay Park has gone from fielding one team to fielding three in a matter of years. Great progress is being made and the results are getting better and better. Our international women's teams have enjoyed excellent results in the last week and crucially our men's teams, after a series of excellent performances, are now on the verge of test status. It cannot be taken for granted how important the elevation to test status would be to the development of the game domestically and to the standing of Ireland as a cricket playing nation. It is huge and the financial potential for the game and for the related industries of tourism and hospitality is magnificent. The structures of the game can only benefit from Ireland playing at the highest level.

We already have a well functioning domestic game, with more and more of our top players able to make their living from cricket by staying in Ireland and playing in the inter-provincial series. We are seeing cricket spreading into new clubs and counties. Cricket is a very inclusive sport. Many of the families involved in the game in Ireland are originally from places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa and for them to see their kids getting to meet so many different people and to play a game that they know and love is hugely impressive. That is being matched by the ambition of Cricket Ireland. As an organisation, I cannot fault it. I am very impressed by its genuinely optimistic and positive outlook. The investment made by Cricket Ireland in the development of the new training facility in Abbotstown can only be commended. It will be the envy of so many tier one cricketing nations, far beyond Ireland and our current status. However, the investment made by Cricket Ireland needs to be matched by Government investment. The Government must make a capital investment to the tune of €2 million in the stadium in Malahide, either through the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport alone or in co-operation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. That sum, together with the finances that have already been put up by Cricket Ireland, the International Cricket Council and the local authority, will suffice. This is an investment that will see a return almost immediately. It will see scores of top-level matches coming to Malahide, with huge tourism potential. We have seen what can happen when England commits to playing games in Malahide. It is really exciting to see Ireland being invited to play England at Lord's this year. We are at the edge of the top table and we just need this last little move to get there. Then the game itself, not just at the professional level but at all levels, with more and more men, women, boys and girls getting involved, will flourish. It just needs that last nudge. I am using my time to issue a very direct appeal to the Minister to take this on board, take the initiative and make it happen.