Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the significant funding put in place, the large-scale infrastructure fund is for large-scale infrastructure projects. The GAA alone has 2,200 clubs across 32 counties. There are also rugby clubs and soccer clubs. These are the smaller club facilities where young girls start out playing the sport. The reality is that a high percentage of them do not have the facilities. I welcome that €250 million is set aside for the sports capital programme, but what percentage of that is to upgrade facilities for female participation? A significant amount of that would be for stands, drainage on pitches and so on. I ask that a breakdown would be given on what amount is part of that. While improvements have been made, I do not think it is sufficient, and I still believe it is important we put together a specific scheme similar to the sports capital programme on that specific basis. We are taking it seriously and looking to get people involved in leadership. We have been active with regard to the percentage on boards, but not on governing bodies. In 2024, the facilities need to be on a par, but the reality is they are not. If we do not push to put funding in place for that to happen, it will not happen in the short term. That is not acceptable.