Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, here for statements on sports and sports funding. Only last week we had the people of the year awards in Ballinasloe. They acknowledged representatives across many areas, such as volunteer work and community groups. In a town of about 7,000 people, with a catchment area population of 14,000 or so, we have 19 international athletes. They are representing Ireland, if not Connacht, in modern pentathlon, golf, rugby, soccer, equestrian, karate, Futsal soccer and tug-of-war. That was 19 people coming out of clubs and groups in the town of Ballinasloe. It is thanks to the funding from Government and the State bringing these young people in a small town in the west of Ireland to international level. It just shows us the quality of clubs, volunteers and coaches in each of those areas.

The Minister of State might like to comment on community games. How do they factor into the funding through Sport Ireland? Are there supports through community games? Each of these groups came through community games first, through the schools, and then on to the local clubs. There is also work with clubs like rugby and soccer where someone working for the likes of Connacht Rugby will come into the schools. What other supports are available through the likes of Sport Ireland to get groups into schools to encourage and engage people in different sports, perhaps sports that are not as well known? Karate and gymnastics are ones we want to support, and perhaps international sports such as basketball and so on. We are seeing a lot more interest in them in our local areas.

The Minister of State has indicated that applications for the sports capital and infrastructure award are in excess of 3,106, from what I understand from last year. We worked hard in government to increase funding in terms of the numbers of applications we saw in the last round. Has the Minister of State any comments or feedback on how we are going to look at this? How many were funded last year under infrastructure and under sports capital? Are we looking at numbers or are we looking at amounts? I understand the infrastructure element might be towards mid-2024 and the actual sports capital announcements later in 2024. We worked with a lot of clubs across both counties, Roscommon and Galway. There was a lot of interest from schools also because they are finding it so difficult to access financial supports through the Department of Education for sports amenities and facilities. Does the Minister of State have any thoughts on the next round and how we can encourage more schools to apply, working with clubs as well?Is there anything on the community sports and physical activity hubs? Some areas have been nominated for community sports and physical activity hubs. Does the Minister of State see any way to support the likes of new communities moving to our areas? How might that might focus on more international sports that may be more appealing to new families and new communities coming to Ireland?

The final thing I want to raise relates to a particular example around regional access, which I want to ask the Minister of State's thoughts on. I am dealing with a representation at the moment in relation to a young man who is excellent at gymnastics. He is still attending secondary school. Level 3 access to that type of coaching in Connacht - not the county of Galway but Connacht - is not available. It is available in Leinster and in Munster. What happens when access to a particular level of sport is no longer available, not just within a county but within a region? What is the responsibility of Sport Ireland and the Department of sport in ensuring access at a regional level? Does it come down to saying there is no interest in it? That is not enough. Where are the feeder schools? Where are the coaches from those sports who should be going into the schools to encourage and inspire students to get involved? Look at Connacht rugby. Some years ago some people were saying they were going to get rid of Connacht rugby. It is happening now with gymnastics. If Sport Ireland decides someone cannot get access to coaching at that level, they are not going to be an elite athlete or if they are, there will be a financial burden on their family in trying to ensure they can access the same level of training as those in the likes of Dublin. This comes down to regional access, which is the reason I am here.