Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will try to get through as many of the issues as possible. I will talk about the issue of women and sport, which has been raised by a number of Senators. The day is over when, as Senator Dooley said, women have to thank the GAA for letting them in or have to pay. I brought in a new rule on sports capital this year and this will apply in counties Kildare, Louth, Clare and all over the country where it is an issue. Again, I will not refer to specific issues.

If clubs get a grant in this round of the sports capital, they will have to certify on drawdown that there is similar access for men and women to their facilities. Therefore, if it is only men using the facilities, they will not qualify for a grant. Now, if there are regional grants or, indeed, if clubs get a top-up under the LSSIF in this round or are awarded it in a future LSSIF, they will have to publish a policy publicly demonstrating how there is similar access for men and women. We are putting that very strong burden on the bigger projects but every club that gets a grant will also have to certify this. If a camogie club in any part of the country is not able to find a pitch and there is some GAA club in that area that is getting a sports capital grant, that GAA club will have to certify that women have access to the facilities on a similar basis to men.