Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo the accolades expressed to our colleague and friend, Christy Kelly, who is retiring after 40 years' service. He is a gentleman and a pleasure to work with. I thank him most sincerely for his tenure in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I support Senator McGreehan and commend the Leader and Senator Gallagher on the horticultural Bill. It is farcical that we are importing peat.

I rise primarily to seek a debate on the future of sport, particularly boxing. There seems to be an all-out civil war in Irish amateur boxing. The representative association's annual general meeting, AGM, scheduled for next weekend, has been deferred. Candidates have been put forward and then retracted and 25 members were expelled last week. Members of the Dublin, Leinster and Connacht clubs have voted no confidence in the central council. It is a great concern that people of the calibre of Andrew Duncan are being treated the way they are. I know him well. He is a person of value, substance and high integrity who puts the sport of boxing first, second and third.

Our boxers should be revelling in the joy of last summer with the deeds of Kellie Harrington and others who have achieved Olympic success. Instead, there has been an Oireachtas committee meeting on Irish amateur boxing and there will be an independent review. Will the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Chambers, come to the House for a debate on boxing? Let us bring an end, once and for all, to this ongoing review that is damaging the sport of boxing from grassroots level to high performance. The young boys and girls of our boxing clubs, and our young adults and potential and current Olympians, deserve boxing to be free from rancour. Will the Leader invite the Minister of State to appear before the House for a debate on the future of sport, especially boxing, in our country?