Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

Likewise, we can only be proud of our record-breaking Olympic team last summer and the continued success and positivity of our Gaelic games. It is worth recognising the popularity of our domestic sports. Football, hurling and camogie are essentially unrivalled in Europe where globalised sports such as soccer, cricket and rugby are the only games in town. Where else in Europe can indigenous sports attract many tens of thousands of supporters in the same way that the ongoing All-Ireland football and hurling championships can as we have seen over recent weekends? However, that does not change the fact that our sports facilities and programmes have been chronically under-resourced and under-supported for years. I agree with Senator Ní Chuilin that Ireland is underinvesting in sport compared to our European neighbours and other smaller countries across the globe. We are clearly at the bottom of the table when it comes to sport investment and that has to change. Sinn Féin has repeatedly called for increased capital funding to reopen the LSIIF for a fresh round. The sports capital fund is welcome, but it does not issue funding annually. It is not consistent. It is not built into the system and the infrastructure. We need to ensure we have a sports facilities strategy. We need to carry out an audit across the country to discover where the gaps are and where there is a good supply of facilities. That audit has to inform a sports facilities strategy. Inner city clubs very often miss out on sports capital programme funding because their members do not have the professional skills required to submit successful applications. In affluent areas clubs can apply for funding. Its members have the professional skills and the time to do so. Clubs in these areas are disproportionately successful when applying for funds. In the past having the Minister in their constituency was a huge boost for clubs applying for sports capital grant funding in the past, although maybe not so much now. Successive Governments have failed to adopt an effective strategy in improving sports across the State resulting in Ireland consistently having the lowest rate of expenditure on sport and recreation.

In Dublin, we need continued support for Dalymount Park, Richmond Park and Tolka Park, alongside vital community resources such as Irishtown Stadium, which is vital to the community in Ringsend and Irishtown and for local clubs Crusaders and St. Patrick's CYFC, in particular. St. Pat's, a local football team, put in a huge amount of effort and work into the community.

I am disappointed that the Government has failed to commit to increasing the betting levy by 1% from 2% to 3% to finance sport investment. It would have been a huge boost for sport. The commitment to do so was in both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's election manifestos, but was then silently dropped from the programme for Government after the election. No one has indicated that it will be considered in the upcoming budget. A 1% tax increase in the betting levy would have raised approximately €50 million. This would have been a huge boost to all sports, not just the big three. It would have affected sports like rowing and cricket as well. It would also have been a huge opportunity to invest in League of Ireland soccer because Irish soccer is not looking great.I heard speculation the Minister of State's party is approaching Packie Bonner to run for President. I am not sure if he will rule that out.

We have to invest in Irish football. Irish football, or Irish soccer, is on its knees in terms of facilities. It is going through a revival with regard to fans and fan support but the facilities are absolutely appalling. In some League of Ireland grounds the toilets are just Portakabins or Portaloos. That is just not acceptable in this day and age. We are talking about disability access and so on and it just is not right. We need to invest in League of Ireland football because if we do not, not only will it affect our men's and women's international teams but we will not have a local industry. We have the horse racing industry and the greyhound industry and the Government is happy to support them. Yet with a 1% increase in the betting tax, we could create a football industry. Unfortunately, however, the Government has decided not to do that, although before the election its members flirted with the electorate around improving investment in sport. After the election they just ghosted them. It is not acceptable. We need a commitment to back sport, football and League of Ireland football, and ensure that Katie Taylor fights in Croke Park.