Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Horan is most welcome. It shows the respect he is giving to the Chamber that so many members of his family are present to witness his address. It says a lot about the seriousness with which he is taking the occasion. It is also great to see Mr. Alan Milton here. I saw him in Clones on Sunday. My memory of him in UCD in the 1990s is that he was more of a Liverpool fan than anything else, but I hope that will not impinge on his career path in the GAA. I welcome Mr. John Costello and very much expect that we will be renaming Collins Avenue after him and that in years to come, as he travels from Whitehall Colmcille GAA Club to Parnell Park, he will be walking along Costello Avenue.

I want to reflect on the themes covered in Mr. Horan's address which were absolutely excellent. He spoke about community, health, the importance of sport for mind and body and education, gambling and alcohol, the global reach of the GAA, gender equality, pitches going from grey to green and voluntarism. I do not come from a GAA background. I fell in love with the GAA mainly because of the Dubs in the 1990s. It was a hard sell in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I remember the time when I found a job on Sheriff Street in the early 2000s in a school with no yard and no background in the GAA. I had just qualified as a primary school teacher and had been trained at foundation level as a GAA coach. I attended a function at the time with the then president of the GAA, Mr. Sean McCague, and had the idea of forming a girls' Gaelic football team in the school. When I asked Mr. McCague if he could help, he asked what I wanted. I told him that I would love to have a set of gear. He then asked what colour. Two weeks' later he turned up to present us with the most beautiful green and white gear. We were successful in five Cumann na mBunscoil championships. For children with no place to train in their community or no club for which they could play, that investment by the GAA was inspiring.

Mr. Horan spoke about the maintenance of green spaces, with which I absolutely agree. This is not the time at which to make political speeches, but the strategic housing development Act needs to be re-examined. What needs to be investigated is how developments can proceed to An Bord Pleanála without cognisance being taken of local zoning. Z15 in Dublin City Council is under threat, as are pitches within the confines of institutional lands. We saw what happened at Clonkeen College in Dún Laoghaire and St. Anne's Park. The point is relevant. There is an overdependence on pitches on land owned by religious orders or other institutions. We must be conscious of this.

Pay-per-view has been mentioned. Anybody with an elderly family member who has a great love for the GAA but who cannot attend matches and does not have a Sky subscription knows that pay-per-view is a barrier. It is something on which the GAA should reflect. Knowing it as I do, the reality is that we know the money taken at the gate and pay-per-view income go back into the association.

Everyone accepts that. However, once a barrier becomes the difference between someone attending and not attending a match or between someone watching and not watching at home on television, it has to be re-examined.

Mr. Horan referred to State funding. Our side of the House must examine that. The influence of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund over the body politic is remarkable. Unquestionably, the only ring-fenced funding in Irish politics is that fund. It amounts to €56 million per year. A proportion of every bet placed on anything goes straight into the fund. No other sporting organisation has absolute certainty of ring-fenced Exchequer funding every year. Considering what the GAA does for this country, the moneys that Mr. Horan has mentioned are paltry compared with the unquestioned €56 million or so per year that goes into the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund.

I wish to discuss gender equality. I am heavily involved with the ladies side in Scoil Uí Chonaill, Clontarf. We should examine possibilities as regards gender accessibility at GAA grounds. I wrote to Croke Park about making sanitary products free in every GAA ground. I also wrote about breastfeeding facilities and taking a more sympathetic view towards parents attending games with infant children. I had an issue with that myself only last year when I was refused entry to Croke Park because I had an infant in my company. If we are to encourage a family-friendly environment and gender accessibility at our county grounds and promote our facilities, these suggestions need to be considered.

The Cathaoirleach is facilitating me, so I will make my final point. Regarding the integration of non-Irish populations, Mr. Horan referred to the GAA abroad. At a school in Carrickmacross, 50% of the infant intake are non-Irish born or have parents who are non-Irish born. How are we utilising the GAA network? In many communities, if someone is not involved in the GAA, he or she is missing out because it is the lifeblood of those communities. In conjunction with the body politic, the Department of Justice and Equality and whoever else, how can the GAA facilitate a mechanism whereby those children can enter into the GAA family? While we are all lauding Mr. Horan's presence today, if someone does not have a father, grandfather or great-grandfather involved in a local club, it can be difficult to enter into that space and become an equal member. That is a fair comment to make. Having said that, a French lady won player of the year with our junior B side at Scoil Uí Chonaill. There is evidence it can work.