Sport and Recreational Development
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Charlie McConalogue (FF), Donegal

I thank Deputies O'Meara, Byrne and Ó Murchú. The Deputies have put an emphasis on access and support for those with disabilities. The Government is very focused on making progress in this area. Budget 2025 was the first to provide specific disability funding to national governing bodies through Sport Ireland. That was important. We have seen the appointment of a Sport Ireland disability lead, which is really important. We have also seen funding for each of our 29 sports partnerships across the country to employ officers to work with sporting organisations in each partnership area to ensure opportunities are in place. As each of the Deputies has described, it is wonderful and inspiring to go to a club and see children or people of any age with a disability or illness participating in sport. It gives a wonderful sense of energy and opportunity. Those opportunities might not be as plentiful for them as they are for people who do not have a disability. We need to work together collectively to support more and more of those opportunities so that participation gap continues to close and we see more and more people get those opportunities in every community right across the country. I thank the Deputy for raising this here today.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20