Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

I wish to try to cover a few issues. One of the things we can come back to at the close is when the Minister of State expects to issue a new call for the sports facility fund and also the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I have listened with interest to all of the speakers.During the lifetime of the previous Government we saw unprecedented investment in sport in terms of the sports facility fund. At the end of last year almost €250 million was invested in sport. Critical to that was incubating a culture of equality across all sporting organisations. I see it in my own local GAA club, which is fully set up to cater for female and male participants alike. I can see it being replicated to a lesser extent in soccer clubs, as there are challenges for them. It is important to acknowledge that such work is under way. We have a significant issue with soccer clubs in terms of trying to access investment. GAA clubs own their own grounds and it is easy for them to apply for sports capital funding but most soccer clubs do not own their facilities and, where they do, it is the exception rather than the norm. In the lifetime of the previous Government it was mooted that we were looking at a parks and playing fields initiative that would address the issue, whereby local authorities and sports clubs could come together on communal grounds and possibly a number of clubs could share grounds. For example, in the case of Longford town, we could bring three or four of the closest soccer clubs together and develop a bespoke playing area for them with three to four pitches. That would be an obvious solution for them.

Like many others in the House I was deeply saddened to hear the news about the North Down Cricket Club. It was planning to have an inclusive week-long camp involving youngsters from the local GAA club. It was horrific news to wake up to and it shows how far we have to come as a country and society. Nobody in this House does not embrace the concept of a united Ireland, and we value it dearly, but if we are serious about it, it is important that we are able to reach out to the unionist and loyalist communities and to bring them on a journey with us. The last thing we want in this country is a vitriolic campaign for unity. We want both sides of the divide to come together for it. I note the first Speaker in this House was Lord Glenavy, who was very much of the unionist tradition. This House was set up on the founding principle that it was to unite a country that was deeply divided in the aftermath of the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War. I would like the Cathaoirleach and this House, and the Ceann Comhairle, reach out to the North Down Cricket Club and invite it and several of the other clubs that were due to take part in that event to Leinster House. We must show solidarity with that community. It is very important as a society that they know they have friends. We are all about sport. We love sport here.

Horse racing was referenced by a couple of speakers. We cannot underestimate the value of horse racing. In sporting terms, we are very much the All Blacks of horse racing. We have the best jockeys in the world, both male and female. Arguably the most successful female jockey of all time, who recently retired, is an Irish jockey. We cannot undersell the value of that investment by the Government in horse racing.

If the Chair will bear with me, I will make one final point. In the aftermath of Storm Éowyn the Minister of State wrote to sports partnerships asking for a briefing on clubs that were affected by storm damage. Five clubs across Longford – Ballyboro FC, Real Clondra FC, St. Brigid's GAA, the rugby club in Longford and Abbeylara Handball Club were all damaged, with the costs varying between €1,000 and €5,000. The most significant damage was to Longford Town soccer club, where a perimeter wall was knocked down, which will cost €100,000 to replace. Could the Minister of State have a look at that and see if he can provide any assistance to Longford Town FC?