Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, there was a presentation in Leinster House by Sporting Liberties on the issue of sports infrastructure in the south-west inner city. There is not a single playing pitch for the more than 8,000 children in the area. Back in 2014, I started a campaign with Sporting Liberties to rezone land and deliver pitches on the former Boys' Brigade pitches in St. Teresa's Gardens. That project is in train but it will not be delivered until 2026. It is unacceptable that there are no adequate sports facilities for the children of Dublin 8 and that the facilities that will be delivered are taking more than 12 years to complete. Football, boxing and hurling clubs are all in need of essential infrastructure.

There are a couple of small measures we could take immediately to deliver some sports infrastructure in the area. One would be opening the Guinness swimming pool, which is currently only for Guinness employees and members, for wider use. The two local schools should be allowed to deliver a water safety programme there. A second step would be opening some of the AstroTurf pitches in the area that are specific to local schools. Everybody should be allowed to play on them outside school hours.

The second issue I raise is the massive increase in the price of infant formula in recent years. Prices have risen by 20% since 2021. This is a question of infant health and equality. Every single child in this country deserves to be fed adequate nutrition in the early stages of life. At the weekend, I heard reports of parents who cannot afford formula watering it down. It is the most shoplifted item in our supermarkets. I was in Tesco in Ballyfermot last Friday and I noticed that every tin of formula is security tagged. There are flat complexes in my area where people are selling formula door to door. Yet, two years into a cost-of-living crisis, this is probably one of the first times the issue has been raised. Deputy O'Reilly raised it in May last year. It is an absolute disgrace that so many parents are worried about feeding their children and are having to water down formula.

I wrote to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, raising this matter. I ask the Deputy Leader to do the same on behalf of the Seanad to back up my request for an investigation into market practices in the infant formula industry. It has a captive audience that is not price sensitive. I would greatly appreciate a representation on behalf of the Seanad on this issue. I would also appreciate if we could engage with the Minister on allowing supermarket vouchers to be applied to infant formula. I refer to general vouchers that are not tied to specific formula brands. We also need a public information campaign on safe formula feeding and the dangers of watering it down. It is not about volume; it is about nutrition. The formula products are pretty much all the same. We do not want people switching between different types but once they start on one, it is pretty much all the same. However, watering it down is extremely dangerous for children's nutrition. This public health emergency can no longer be ignored as other priorities take over.