Eileen Flynn (Independent)

Sports should be for everyone but right now, we see two-tier examples of how Ireland is failing to live up to its own values. First, let me address the 47 Palestinian children who were denied the chance to visit Ireland. These children are aged nine to 16 years. They wanted to play Gaelic football here. They live in refugee camps. They have never seen the sea or been on a train. They live in fear. Ireland calls itself the land of hundreds of thousands of welcomes. We say we support Palestine and our Government talks about solidarity but when Palestinian children want to visit, we say no. The Department of justice stated the children do not have proper documents, but GAA Palestine gave them everything they asked for, including birth certificates, consent forms and financial guarantees; absolutely everything.

What is wrong with this picture? Israel's citizens can enter Ireland without a visa but Palestinian children living under occupation are treated like threats. That is not solidarity; it is discrimination. These children lost €38,000 on flights they could not use. Hundreds of Irish volunteers worked for months to prepare and all of this was wasted because of the red tape. One child asked, “But the Irish stand with us, why don't they want us to visit?” How do we answer that? When Ukrainian children needed help, Ireland moved fast. We found hotel rooms. We got through red tape. We opened our hearts. Yet when Palestinian children ask for a two-week visit, we treat them like criminals. This is not just about sport, it is about whether our values mean anything. The Minister of State cannot support Palestine with words, it is actions we need. I wanted to read that out. More than 40 children were denied access to this country to play sports. We state sport does not have any discrimination and is something that brings us all together but that was not the case for these children. I call on the Minister of State to support these children to come to Ireland to give them that equality of opportunity to play Gaelic football and hurling.

I live in Ardara, County Donegal. The Minister of State is a Donegal man himself. I spoke with the women's GAA team in Ardara. I invited them here two summers ago and they got to experience Leinster House, and the girls played a game of football with young women from the Jobstown GAA club. The women in Ardara want proper funding. They want to be treated equally to the men that play GAA in Ardara. They want physiotherapy and counselling. When it comes to sports, they want all the supports that men have in this field. I will say, unless we invest in women's sport and in people from minority groups, our sports are not inclusive.

The Traveller community loves to play handball. Many members of the Traveller community have kept handball alive within communities and unfortunately, it is not seen by the Department as a valuable sport. It is something that is a part of Traveller culture. We talk about horse racing and unfortunately, many Travellers are denied the right to be able to facilitate horse racing. I urge the Minister of State to look at the inequalities that we have in our Department of sport.

Women in boxing are treated as less than men in boxing. I know many young Traveller women who absolutely love boxing but they are not out there as much as the men and do not get the support the men get.

We should encourage and support women in the GAA when they want to wear black shorts. I know in Cork, a group of women wear black shorts. That is something we should support as legislators as well. The Minister of State needs to think about inclusivity and what that means throughout Ireland as a whole.