Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

I acknowledge and welcome the Laois camogie players today from Camross, O'Moore's and The Harps clubs. It is great to see young people and young athletes being interested, engaged and concerned about what is effectively an equality issue. The issue at the weekend has highlighted the demand for women to wear skorts playing elite sports. As a father of two daughters who play and love camogie with Ballinteer St. John's, it is positive to see female athletes engaging in what is an equality issue. This is about equality and choice. Camogie players must have both, just like the male players. When I watched the Dublin versus Kilkenny match at the weekend and saw the older male referee sending 40 young female elite athletes back to the dressing room to change into skorts, I found it unsettling and unfair. The symbolism of it was unsettling. This must change. As the players here behind me said, when there is a need for change, men’s football is changing. For example, they are changing two-pointers. There are a range of measures being made in men's football to keep up with the changes needed. Why can camogie not change? I spoke to one of the camogie players involved in the Dublin and Kilkenny match and she said that when they got back to the dressing rooms on Saturday to change into the skorts, the atmosphere was eerie and demoralising. That is just not what sport should be about. This has gone way beyond the Camogie Association. It is not going to go away. It is now an equality issue and there needs to be change by the Camogie Association. I suggest that, if there is not change by the Camogie Association, the Government needs to review the funding for camogie and the Camogie Association.