Departmental Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Colm Burke (FG), Cork North-Central

I thank the Minister and accept that the announcement this morning was very welcome. I come from a parish where 11 acres were purchased 50 years ago, and we now have 45 acres of sports and community facilities involving the GAA, the rugby club, soccer facilities, a playground and a walkway. That has been developed over the past 50 years as a result of community efforts and with the help of sports capital grants. Likewise, in the area where I served as chair of a community centre in Blackpool, more than 40 organisations use the facility there, which is extremely important for the local community. Therefore, it is important to make decisions about providing refurbishment. The issue I have in regard to new builds is that there are challenges in Glanmire, which is a new town in real terms, with over 25,000 people. Likewise, there will be huge development in Blarney. The need for planning for proper community facilities is so important for those areas and that will involve new builds.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26