Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have just a couple of issues to raise. I recently met representatives of the NARGC with regard to rural pursuits in Ireland. Several reports in 2021 recommended the setting up of a nature advisory committee and a national biodiversity forum. Neither has been set up. The firearms consultative panel, which was in place, has not been re-established. I ask for a discussion on that.We have given commitments to do it. It has not happened; it needs to happen. We need to re-establish the firearms consultative panel to have engagement with the sector and deal with the issues that are there.

I wish to raise another issue. Senator Cassells probably emphasised it for me. I am a GAA man born and bred. I am heavily involved at club, local, provincial and national level. The GAA is about all 32 counties and London and New York. In hurling, with which I am involved in my county, that includes Lancashire and Warwickshire. That is what we need. That is what the GAA was set up to do, namely bring our sports to an international diaspora. It is being expanded upon in order to ensure that we can show all the games. We fought strongly for the Táilteann Cup. I was heavily involved in that. I am looking forward to the day, when, please God, Longford might win a national title.

The Leinster minor final between Dublin and Longford will be shown on TG4 next Monday night. It is the first time we have been in the final in ten or 12 years. That is what the GAA is about. It is about all counties and all levels within the various sports. I went to Croke Park as chairman of Longford hurling board for a Lory Meagher final, which is a prestigious match. It was one of the best games of hurling I have ever seen. There were probably 500 people in attendance. The game was played at a highly competitive level in Croke Park by the two teams involved.

We need to stand back and look at this realistically. The uachtarán mentioned infrastructure. We are looking to integrate the GAA, the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and camogie. Every sporting facility here was built for men. As a result, we are going to need hundreds of millions of euro to invest in bringing them up to the necessary standard to allow for full integration. That is what the priority should be. What we should be looking for is getting the money from Government to make sure that we put the necessary infrastructure in place for the integration of the three associations.