Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Next week the largest sporting organisation in the country, the GAA, will hold its annual congress in County Mayo. One club and its chairman have been so motivated by the abuse of drugs they have witnessed within our society and in particular, within our GAA clubs, that they have been moved to table a motion at congress. That man is Tim Barry from Rathdowney-Errill GAA in County Laois and he has called for a ban on players who do not complete courses on substance abuse and gambling because of the cocaine abuse he has seen in his club. He has been backed this week to get the debate going by Ciarán Carey, the former Limerick great, who is an addiction counsellor.It might not win next week at congress, but it is the largest sporting organisation in this country standing up and admitting that there is a problem within society and at least trying to tackle it in a very meaningful way because what he is calling for is a ban to be imposed on players if testing and addiction courses are not completed. It would start at a ban for one match, and it would gradually increase. It would take players out of the system, as they would not be able to play, so there would be a real tangible negative for those who do not complete the courses.

Here we have local leaders in society trying to tackle what needs to be done in our country. They can probably do more than any of the strategies devised in these Houses because it will have a tangible impact on the lives of young players if they do not face up to what is being sought in this particular debate.

I also pay tribute to Oisín McConville, who again this week was in the media talking about his addiction problems in terms of gambling, and the fact that he went as low as to take money from his mother's purse to fund his addiction. Again, he is going around the country speaking to young people in clubs. He came to our own club Navan O'Mahonys to speak to young people about that addiction as well.

I urge those delegates going to the GAA congress to give serious consideration to what is being asked of them, and to at least have the debate. We often talk about sport, and I always talk about sport in these Chambers. There has been a great week for sport in terms of the money that is being given to improve capital investment, but it will mean little if those going out on the field of play are suffering in silence with the addictions they have. It is a debate worth having in these Houses in conjunction with the GAA.