Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

They reminded me of the first international game I attended as a ten year old in 1987 with my father who never thought he would set foot in Lansdowne Road, which was interesting. It was a soccer game between Ireland and Brazil and the person who scored the winning goal was somebody who had once been expelled from the school in which my father had taught for choosing soccer over Gaelic games. That is the Ireland in which I grew up. I grew up in an environment which was quite hostile to rugby which it did not trust or like. However, as one grows up and gets older and as one's mind opens up, one begins to share experiences with other peopl. At this stage, I think rugby is incredibly important to this country as a game. It is incredibly emotional for Irish people to see a team of 15 men or women from every part of this Ireland, from different religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, standing shoulder to shoulder under one banner and representing one jersey. This summer we will have a rugby world cup in Ireland. We are hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup and we can be proud of that. Many comments have been made here about the economic cost or the economic benefits. That is in important debate to have, but when I think of my ten year old self in Landsdowne Road that day, the impact that game had on me was monumental. Going back to the statistics of the game in Landsdowne Road in 1987, it seems there was only about 12,000 people there. I can only imagine the impact which the Rugby World Cup will have on ten year old girls and boys if we are successful in this bid.

Sport is a wonderful thing. It is often viewed as a luxury or as not being as important as other social infrastructure or policy decisions which we have to make in this country. When I taught in an area of acute disadvantage, however, the best days we had were the days on which the children were literally on a level playing field with other, perhaps more advantaged, children. On those days we touched heaven and I could look the children in the eye and tell them that they were as good as anybody else. I could tell them that they could achieve as much as anybody else and could train, work and practise as hard as anybody else. There were no excuses as to why they could not be the best they could possibly be. I taught in a particularly disadvantaged part of the world. Sport did that.

Sport often brings people in from the margins - people who would never be seen in the mainstream media - to represent their country, often a country that has let them down. Members of the Traveller community have proudly walked out in front of an Olympic team carrying the Irish flag. Members of the unionist and loyalist communities in Belfast have represented the tricolour at the Olympic Games. Members of disadvantaged, alienated and immigrant communities across the world have represented the green. They are often derided for their English accents, even though they come from Irish communities abroad.

The power of sport can be overwhelming. It can be so uplifting and inspirational. I agree with what Senator O'Sullivan said. Free-to-air broadcasting was mentioned in respect of the ability of young people, and the entire country, to connect with this event. I was horrified that the Waterford-Kilkenny game on Saturday night was only available to people who had a Sky subscription. I know we have to be careful about what we say and I know we will be accused of being reckless, but we need to adopt a mindset that this event must be something which the whole country can enjoy and will not be something which people will need a Sky subscription to watch in their living room. We all remember the wonderful family occasions of the 1990 World Cup, the 1994 World Cup and even last summer, when people connected with their families on an emotional basis in a way in which they probably never connect outside of weddings and so on. There is a feeling of connecting to a common identity when cheering on a sports team one feels strongly about.

Let us give sport the status it deserves. It is spine-tingling. It puts the hairs on the back of one's neck on end. It is something which is enshrined in our identity and which is a fantastic leveller. As I have said, people who wear the green are often people who have been let down by society but who still give everything in their sweat and their energy to represent our country. We will have a fantastic spectacle this summer with the Women's Rugby World Cup. I pray that we will have this spectacle in 2023 with the Rugby World Cup, but let us make sure that it will be accessible to all.