Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I thank him for his comprehensive overview. I want to spend my time discussing sport and the sports capital programme. Before I do so, I wish to raise the issue of transport and congestion in Dublin.

I was in London last week. I had to top up my card and was told that if I travelled after 9.30 a.m., there would be a substantial reduction. I wondered why we did not have a similar system in Dublin. There are quite a few people on the platform who opted not to use a train going out before 9.30 a.m. It does not affect people returning; it only affects people going out. It is clearly trying to reduce the number of passengers at peak times. The Luas runs right through the Minister's constituency. I am very familiar with the DART. I come in here at 7.30 a.m. but do not take the DART very often because it is physically impossible to get onto it. One has to push passengers on and off. Some are left on the platform. There are many schools along the DART line so the time in question is busy. Many people travel to work at the time. Therefore, we have a problem. I am sure it has occurred to the Minister to ask the transport providers to consider a reduced cost for those using services after 9.30 a.m. If one takes a DART at 9.30 a.m. or 9.45 a.m., one notes it is half empty, which is great in that it is very pleasurable to travel on. We need to incentivise people to travel after 9.30 a.m. I do not believe circumstances are the same for commuters going home because journeys are staggered and they are not competing with schools at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Minister might pass that on.

I want to talk to the Minister about the sports capital grant. I welcome the announcement thereon. The Minister has referred to the €37 million. That is particularly good. I support all forms of sport and participation. I was a competitor in hockey, equestrian sport and a number of other sports so I have a keen interest in them. I will touch on some later.

I acknowledge the substantial grant for Seapoint Rugby Club because I know it well. The club was successful on this occasion. I welcome the grant for Avoca Hockey Club, for which I was a very competitive player. I went to school in the area and was involved there for a long time. One of my key problems is that I heard about the grants long before Friday. I had asked in this House about the sports capital grant on numerous occasions. I had heard anecdotally around this House elements of what was to be announced. The Minister may call it all speculation. I take it that it was. I had heard decisions from political people. I took the time to Google what was being said in a few of the provincial newspapers, as I do anyway because I am keenly aware of rural communities. I saw that a number of individuals, from Ministers and Ministers of State to other politicians, had laid claim to fame in respect of the awards and grants. I am concerned about that. I am happy to supply some information on this. We need greater transparency in the process. I take on board that the Minister is reforming the process. I am not questioning him personally but believe it is important to have greater transparency in the process and in how we announce grants. I understand the Minister is in government and that there are pressures on people in Leinster House and all over the place on foot of organisations asking how they have fared. I have concerns over this. I took the time to talk to a number of politicians and staff from provincial newspapers, including editors, to ascertain the sort of information the newspapers were being asked to promote in their next editions. I downloaded a number of responses so I can provide them.

The Minister knows the sports capital programme is operated by his Department and provides the grants to assist in facilitating sport. I recognise that. We do not want circumstances in which there are private tip-offs or in which a politician can in some way enhance his or her political status or have a greater political advantage by knowing information in advance of anybody else. I have a difficulty with the timing of the announcement and the gap between it and the decisions on the grants, bearing in mind that individuals approached me and that I spoke to a number of individuals in the media who could confirm what I am saying. When I took the trouble to get the Minister's list – I had difficulty and had to go searching for it – I noted the figures were the same, euro for euro in some cases, as those I had to hand. I flag this as an issue of concern. We must ensure that there is transparency and accountability and that the whole system is honourable and up front. It should not be in the gift of any politician or Minister to suggest, by private telephone call or tip-off, that he or she has secured a grant. Neither the Minister nor anybody else has secured anything. Grants are secured through the sports capital grant process. There are validations and processes, as the Minister said. I agree. I want to be clear and loud in saying nobody got anything for anyone. No sports club in this country gained because of any Minister. It will have gained because it prepared an application, adhered to the criteria and engaged in the proper process. Nobody should believe he or she got a leg up by anybody in Leinster House for sport. We need to be clear about that, and we need to be clear about the decisions, announcements and press releases we issue, in respect of which we say we influenced the decision. We influenced nothing and we should not be influencing anything. There is something wrong with a system if politicians influence it. I wanted to flag that issue.I have been asked by Horse Sports Ireland to bring the following to the Minister's attention. It has a strategic plan for the period 2019 to 2024, with which the Minister will be familiar. It may overlap with that of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine because it involves horses. It is an impressive plan, with a vision for Irish sport, and I would like the Minister to look at it. As I say, it may overlap with that of Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, but I am not 100% sure. However, Horse Sports Ireland does have a vision and a mission. It wants to develop a sustainable funding model for its activities and to build organisational capability to enhance the Irish horse sport sector, which is right. It clearly wants to obtain the support necessary to grow this unique sport and industry, in which the Minister has a keen interest. I, therefore, ask him to look at it.

I welcome the statements the Minister has made, but I want to see greater transparency in how the process is completed and brought into the public domain. The Minister is familiar with Glenalbyn swimming pool because it is located in the heart of his constituency and I know that he is committed to seeing the process through. I do not know if they come under the sports capital grants programme - the Minister might tell me - but swimming and water sports are critical, whether in the sea at Dún Laoghaire Harbour or any other harbour. I would like the Minister to make some comment on where he sees funding being provided and whether there are resources available within his Department for the pool. The Minister is on record as being committed to seeing the project delivered in the heart of his constituency, to which I live close. I would like to leave here today with a little more information, if possible, on what the Minister can do about Glenalbyn swimming pool project and what funding he can provide for it. There is an expectation that he will be able to deliver on something he has promised for a long time.