Sports Facilities
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Barry Heneghan (IND), Dublin Bay North

I understand and appreciate that but when I raised this with the Tánaiste months ago, I asked how many Troy Parrotts or Denise O'Sullivans there would be. We just saw the Irish women's team lose two to one to France. North Dublin has a proud history of providing some, if not the best, footballers to the Irish football team. Now, these young men and young women in the area I represent are effectively being blocked out. I have parents, teenagers and children sending me messages to say they cannot train or play the sport they love.
This was sold for €500,000 despite an evaluation of €4.25 million. I have no problem with any professional club, and this is not because I support other professional clubs. I represent an area and the children in this area deserve to play the sport. It appears the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, was eager to cash in on the sale, which allowed the organisation to recoup investment. In turn, a professional club secured a permanent academy base but blocked out local clubs I represent.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03