Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and it is a privilege to address him today on the matters of sports grants and transport. I will first address the sports grant system. I agree totally with my colleague, Senator Boyhan, and I know the Minister's opposition to people making political gain, political appointments or anything like that. It may be at odds with my position on the judicial appointments legislation but the Minister now has the opportunity to take politics out of sports grants and stop the nonsense we see of people getting mileage from this. As Senator Boyhan has said, nobody got a grant for anybody and grants are given by officials on the basis of an application.