Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

We have all said it here today that sport is at the heart of every community in Ireland, both rural and urban. There is a GAA club with a presence in nearly every parish on our island of Ireland, as well as in the UK, Europe, the Americas, Africa, Australasia, Asia and every continent of the world inhabited by humans where there are people who have Irish roots or identify with their Irish roots. This shows the intrinsic value we place on sport as an expression not just of our nationhood but also as of our identity as humans.

As well as our aptitude for our Gaelic games, we currently are or have historically exceeded expectations in many global sports for a country of our size. In sports like athletics, running, boxing, equestrian, surfing, gymnastics, hockey and sailing - I could go on and on - we have consistently produced world champions and key members of world-beating teams. While our elite sportspeople are those who grab international headlines, sport is very much a community enterprise and has a positive impact upon all sectors of society, from young children attending nursery sessions to older people engaging in sports or performing key roles in committees and clubs.

Sport in Ireland is an expression of community. It is good for both our physical and mental health. It is good value for the nation's wealth. We spend between €1.1 billion and €1.5 billion annually on combatting obesity. This is to say nothing of the savings that could be made in mental health services and cardiac care, as well as the improvements in productivity and the overall well-being of the population, if we invested more in sports. There is an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and there is research to back this up. When we spend on preventative measures, such as encouraging people to participate in sport, we automatically make savings in the health budget.

Sport, when delivered well locally, fosters a sense of community, belonging and cohesion and encourages inclusion. I am grateful for the volunteers in my own community. I have three teenage children and being involved in sport has definitely kept them out of trouble. It teaches them commitment, self-awareness, discipline and teamwork and I am grateful for the volunteers who run the clubs.Sports should be, and can be, an effective defence against the increased levels of sexism, racism and intolerance that blight much of the online and social media landscape. It has come up many times in the debate that many of us have seen in our own communities how sport can be a force for genuine social inclusion and action. None of this happens by accident. It happens through good social policy and investment in communities and grassroots organisations whose volunteer members turn up to training sessions week in and week out. In north Sligo and south Donegal, we are immensely proud of our Olympic medalist Mona McSharry. Mona is from the village of Grange, County Sligo and trained in the pool in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. The building the pool is located in is owned by Donegal County Council and our own pool in Sligo is owned by Sligo County Council. There are often employment challenges in sports centres because the staff often do not enjoy the same employment rights as their colleagues directly employed by local authorities. However, I am not going to go into that.

Success such as Mona's demonstrates how a sense of community and volunteerism extends from the very base to the pinnacle of sport, from the infant to the Olympic champion. These two pools in Ballyshannon and Sligo also highlight the underinvestment in all levels of sport in our region, which Senator Rabbitte also referenced. When Mona and our other swimmers take to the pool in Olympic competition, it is in a 50 m pool. However, she had no access to a 50 m pool growing up. People in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal have no access to such a pool. There are three 50 m pools in Dublin and one in Limerick. It is high time that a 50 m pool is constructed in the north west to take advantage of the huge interest in swimming in our region. Ballyshannon, Carrick-on-Shannon and Sligo have fantastic swim clubs and surf and rescue teams that compete at the highest levels. A 50 m pool based in Sligo would serve the region. We have the Atlantic Technological University in Sligo and this would allow us to push this enthusiasm for swimming to a higher level. As has also been mentioned, the fact that girls often leave sport as they approach their teenage years has hit the headlines more in recent times. SIPTU has been instrumental in supporting, advocating and campaigning for the fair treatment of women in soccer, which is so welcome. Fair treatment and improved terms and conditions for female athletes across all codes has to be encouraged and prioritised if girls are to stay on in sports. Many female Senators spoke to this.

Integration in the GAA is a welcome move and must be managed carefully and with sensitivity with equality at its core. The Labour Party has a range of practical ideas that would improve the take-up of opportunities in sport, including more swimming pools, multisport facilities and all-weather pitches in towns with populations of over 5,000. My colleague Senator Mark Wal, brought a Bill through the Seanad to ban gambling ads. This is a huge problem.

Last week, I highlighted the case of Scoil Mhuire in Carrick-on-Shannon where the PE hall has been split in two to provide extra classroom space. This is an example of the underinvestment in sports facilities in schools. Each school should have proper PE facilities and these along with halls, pitches, basketball courts and playgrounds should be available to be used by local clubs, children and community groups when the schools are closed. I have previously called in the Seanad for the Government to indemnify schools against any insurance claims. We have these wonderful facilities in schools sitting there locked in the evenings and during the summer holidays. We can do so much more to support sporting initiatives. We could start with a small measure like this and use the facilities in our communities to their maximum capacity.