Report of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-24 ============================================================ Maria McCormack (SF), Labour Panel I commend the joint committee on all the work that went into this report. It really was extensive and is very well done. I especially commend my colleagues, Senators Ní Chuilinn and Harmon, for their fantastic work. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the report, Inclusion in Sport. I love its central message that being told you are welcome means very little if you cannot get a facility, afford to take part, find a coach who understands your needs or secure a place to play. That is where a lot of the barriers come from. The report has 17 recommendations but I particularly welcome its call for accessible, fit-for-purpose facilities, with funding that looks at the whole project. As the report points out, there is little sense in funding accessible sports equipment while refusing funding for accessible toilets needed at the same venue. It also calls for better transport, support for volunteers and coaches and greater visibility for women's and disability sport. The recommendations deserve the action now and I welcome the Minister of State's comments that this report will form part of the new sport policy. It is so important that this does not end up as another report that draws dust on the shelf. In Laois, we can see what happens when people are given a genuine chance to participate. This summer, the first Laois Inclusion Games brought together more than 330 athletes and participants across 15 sports. The games grew from the work of the vision impaired and physical disability hub and the Laois Sports Partnership, with families, clubs and volunteers all playing their part. It was fantastic. It is something that our county is so proud of. It shows that the demand is there when we create the opportunity. However, a successful weekend must lead to lasting opportunities for these people. Athletes need somewhere accessible to train and that is something that we do not have. They need to be able to compete throughout the year like other athletes. This leads me onto my next point. The next recommendation is of particular importance in Laois, namely, the recommendation on facilities. I will speak about our young soccer players. The Old Fort Celtic club in Portlaoise has grown from one senior team to five teams at present. Its people want to give more to young players, including young girls and give them a place in club, but the lack of a reliable pitch is holding them back year in, year out. The club uses facilities in Portlaoise leisure centre when it can but bookings are limited and cannot always be guaranteed. Its volunteers should be spending their energy developing the club instead of constantly trying to find somewhere to play. There is a grass soccer pitch at the leisure centre that has been out of use for more than six years. A proposal has now been raised locally for a suitable perimeter fence in order that the pitch can be brought back into use. It just seems that there is one block after another. Meanwhile, Portlaoise clubs are travelling outside of the town for home games. I want to see that pitch restored. I want clubs like the Old Fort Celtic to have proper dependable places to play as they grow. This is why the next community sport facilities fund round is so important. Laois has a growing population and clubs with real ambition. Previous local applications have always been unsuccessful. We need sports facilities. We have a growing population. We have St. Mary's Hall; a hall that is absolutely on its knees. We have no big sports facility for the number of youngsters and all-inclusion sports there at all. The pitches need regeneration. We are going to be putting in applications when the applications open on Monday. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that Laois gets its fair share and that applications are judged with the needs of growing communities and the barriers to participation firmly in mind. Clubs are being encouraged to prepare for the next round now. They need to have fair opportunities to turn those plans into pitches and facilities that people can use. I will leave the best to last. I wish to speak about girls and women in sport. It is great to see so much of that in there. It is so important. It clearly records the stereotypes that girls face and recommends better training for coaches and physical educators on issues affecting women's participation in sport. I really hope the Minister of State will pay particular attention to all these issues. It calls for women's sports to be broadcast on an equal basis with men's sport, which is so important. These issues shape whether a girl feels sport is for her or whether she stays involved. Last year in this Chamber, I brought Laois camogie players with me. We cannot forget that the camogie players had to protest last year for their fight to wear shorts instead of a skort. The rule was changed after the players made themselves heard. This may have seemed like a practical issue to a lot of people, but it said something much bigger. We must listen to the women and girls who play our sports. In fairness, in this report, it really does have the lived experiences and the voices of the women and girls. As the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association work towards integration, equality has to be visible in everyday decisions from playing kits and pitches to leadership and resources. The people running our clubs, the volunteers behind the inclusion games and the players asking for change have already shown what is possible. Now, Government funding must back them with facilities, funding and decisions that allow everyone to take part. Inclusion should be simply how we do sport all the time. We cannot talk about women in sport and forget the women who led the way in sport. I am talking about Katie Taylor. She did not just become Ireland's greatest sports person of all time; she changed how this country and people across the world look at women's sports. While Katie Taylor filled stadiums and inspired generations of young girls, Katie should not be the exception. Every young girl, whether she dreams of becoming a world champion or simply just wants to play with her local club, deserves the very same opportunities as the young boys. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-24/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-24