Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I have noted previously in the House, the GAA belongs to the Irish people, including the minority who have no interest in it, given the amounts of taxpayer funds which have always gone to the GAA, far exceeding any other sport. To be clear, I fully support the funding, believe in the good work the GAA does and have been involved in the GAA all my life. The GAA was founded with the stated goal of promoting Irish culture but I fail to see how it is doing that by depriving millions of people across the country of watching our national games.

I am aware of many people who have given countless hours to their clubs, the development of the GAA, have dedicated so much to the GAA and have missed out on watching their county team play in recent years because they cannot afford to pay for Sky Sports or because they are in hospital or a nursing home where Sky Sports is not available. I spoke to a man on Saturday who has been involved in our GAA club for more than 60 years who could only listen to the Galway versus Dublin game on the radio. The deal was wrong in 2014 and it remains wrong today. The seven-year broadcasting deal was signed in 2014. It is up for renegotiation in the coming months. I have spoken and written to my colleague, Deputy Niamh Smyth, chairperson of the Oireachtas joint committee with responsibility for sport, and requested she invite GAA officials before the committee to discuss this matter, to right the wrong and bring the games back to our people.