John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Individual clubs do not apply for sports capital funding any more. That was changed. The national organisations now apply for funding, which they then put out to the clubs. I noticed something in the Minister of State's reply that I would really like to comment on because it is a good thing. I refer to the dormant accounts funding. That is a really good chunk of money that is used in a variety of Departments. Dormant accounts are a good source of income. Perhaps the Government could take a look at that and decide to allocate a little more towards a sport that really promotes inclusion, like wheelchair basketball, over the next three to four years. The reason I tabled this matter was to show that it is very difficult for clubs like these that rely on year-to-year funding based on applications that may or may not be successful. Applications to the local authority come from a great many clubs so the funding available is pretty small. Given the large amount of money required to play this sport, it needs a dedicated funding stream. I appreciate the Minister of State taking the debate.