Charlie McConalogue

The understanding is the Oscar Traynor coach and development centre, owned by Bohemians FC, acquired a long-term lease hold on the facility from Dublin City Council. The use of public lands are ultimately a matter for the relevant local authority and not my Department. Access to the facility is now a matter for the FAI and as all NGBs are independent and autonomous bodies and, as such, are respon…

As I said, my understanding is that a long-term leasehold on the facility was acquired from Dublin City Council. In the first instance, this is a matter between Dublin City Council and the organisation concerned. In relation to approving and granting funds, we check to make sure that applications meet the criteria and that the access conditions are fulfilled. We will continue to do that in relati…

The Government is very much focused on promoting lifelong participation in physical activity and sport for all sectors of society and communities. Our sport for all approach aims to ensure that all persons have the opportunity to participate equally in sport and physical activity, regardless of age, socio-economic status, disability or membership of the LGBTI+ community, the Traveller community or…

We want to be as flexible as we possibly can in supporting all clubs to develop facilities. One source of pressure on clubs is the wonderful increase in female participation in sport in general. That creates additional need for facilities. That is something we want to support through the community sports facilities fund and something we will look at closely. It is important when we give funding th…

In relation to making land available, we want to encourage municipal and multipurpose facilities, particularly through working with local authorities. I encourage the Deputy at local level working with the local authorities-----

-----to see what the opportunities are there. The focus of the Department of sport's funding will be on developing facilities and investing in facilities. We do not have a plan to open that funding up to purchasing land. Were we to do that, many clubs across the country would seek to purchase land under it. Our objective is to put the facilities in place. The primary objective is for the club, pa…

I thank Deputy O'Rourke. I propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 150, 157, 160, 163, 166, 167, 171, 188 and 198 together. The programme for Government commits to continuing the community sports facilities fund and to directing its funding to disadvantaged areas and groups that are currently under-represented in terms of participation. My Department’s statement of strategy for 2025 to 2028 commits …

The plan is to open it in late May or June, with the objective of having funding announcements committed to and the process completed by the end of the year. As I travel around the country, it is very clear that clubs and volunteers are doing phenomenal work and that participation is growing all the time. That is putting pressure on facilities in clubs across all sports. We just discussed the grea…

On what Deputy O'Rourke said, we know that there are particular challenges with access to swimming pool facilities across the country. That is why the Government provided €100,000 to Swim Ireland to compile the needs analysis report. I have met representatives from the organisation to discuss how we can step that out now. We now know where the challenges are, and we need to decide how we can best …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 180 together. I thank the Deputy. The LSSIF was established, as the Deputy knows, to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects and the cumulative investment since 2020 is €297 million across 68 projects. While the LSSIF is closed to applications at present, our focus is on ensuring that project delivery under the first two rounds of the…

The LSSIF has been an important fund. The current national sports strategy, published in 2018, identified the need to establish a LSSIF at Government level. Outside the community sports facilities fund, there were many projects of scale that simply could not get the funding together to allow them to happen. That was a real gap in our national support network. We have had two rounds so far. The fi…

I could not agree more with the Deputy. Communities do not thrive if they do not have the sporting and community infrastructure. Increasingly, and more than ever, sport is central to having healthy communities. The project in Carrigaline is exactly the type of project we want to come forward across the country. I am certainly happy to meet those involved in relation to their plans the next time I…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 143, 159 and 179 together. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. As she knows, the operation of the League of Ireland and its academies is driven by the Football Association of Ireland, which, like all governing bodies, works independently. It is like all the governing bodies that we, in the Government, want to support. I agree with the Deputy that it ha…

I noticed that. The Deputy is ready for the matches ahead and will not have to buy anything new. We are all at one. We agree. It has been heartening and energising to see what has been happening at League of Ireland level. It feeds down to the grassroots and inspires young people. The wonderful thing about football is that people can play one-on-one or two against two. All that is needed is a coup…

I thank Deputy Currie. We want to make sure the investment we are making through academies is used to the best effect possible. The FAI is working, with the guidance of Sport Ireland, to use its experience to ensure that system is structured in the best way. It is also working with premier and first division clubs to see how we can make sure there is good regional reach in terms of academies. Anot…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Everyone involved in sport, in any capacity, regardless of age, should be able to enjoy an experience that is free from any form of abuse. The creation of a culture that promotes the safety and welfare of all must be at the core of the operation of all sports, from national governing bodies right down to grassroots and fans and spectators. Sport Ireland …

I thank Deputy Moynihan. We have supported Sport Ireland in the development of this in the first instance. Sport Ireland provides governance and administration guidance for the sport sector, and the findings from the review will be factored into and incorporated into that. Obviously, there will be lessons and assessments from the report. It is key they are utilised in day-to-day practice. Sport Ir…

Referees are absolutely crucial for the participation of teams. They often find themselves in roles that are not as respected as they should be. In terms of providing a safe environment for adults, the role of referees has to be central in the report and to how we provide that environment in sport. Some sports have a much better ethos and culture than others. We have to work to get to a situation…

While it would be my wish that athletes from all parts of Ireland should have the choice to represent the whole of Ireland at all major international competitions, as is the case at the Olympic Games, neither the Government nor Sport Ireland has a role in determining who can participate in international competitions organised by international sporting federations. International sporting federation…

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this matter. What happened in Oriel Park on Friday evening was an abhorrent and criminal act. It involved taking flares to the stadium, setting them alight and throwing them onto the pitch. It led to a very tragic injury to a young 12-year-old boy. All of our thoughts are with him and his family for his recovery. Our thoughts are also with those who were distres…

I absolutely agree with the Deputy that it has been fantastic to see people of all ages and families coming to League of Ireland matches and the growth both in Premier Division and First Division attendances, and indeed, as well as the introduction of a new third tier to the League of Ireland, which will happen imminently. That is something that we want to see encouraged. It is down to the quality…

I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to discuss the role of the Department of Education and Youth’s emergency works scheme. The purpose of the emergency works scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to providing funding to fac…

I will certainly relay the points the Deputy made back to the Minister. The response I have been given outlines the difference between the emergency works scheme in terms of the criteria to qualify for it and for the summer works scheme. The Department is making the case that the downpipe issue is a matter that would qualify for the summer work scheme as opposed to the emergency works scheme, even…

I thank Deputy Cronin for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity to set out for the House, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, the position with regard to long waiting lists for post-primary school places across north Kildare. I assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary level, including …

I will relay to the Minister for education the Deputy's comments and the representations she has made on this issue on the floor of the Dáil today. To touch further on the assessment of need and demand for school places in a school area, the Department uses data from a range of sources, including child benefit data, enrolments and information on new residential developments, to plan for school pl…