Sports Funding
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Malcolm Byrne (FF), Wicklow-Wexford

I welcome the announcement that there will be a further round of the sports capital scheme later. I commend the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, on their commitment to the development of not just clubs, but the critical role they play within our communities.
I would ask that, in the announcements, regard would be had to rapidly growing communities. As the Minister of State will appreciate, with rapidly growing communities, there is a demand for space. It is right that the Government’s top priority be the provision of housing, but we also need to provide sporting, cultural and community facilities. That is critical. I would also ask the Minister of State to consider what is often a problem for minority sports, that being, where they do not own their own lands or have access to long leases on land or premises. I would ask that, when the next round opens, there is some imaginative way to try to facilitate those minority sports.

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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