Report of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-24 ============================================================ Garret Ahearn (FG), Administrative Panel I thank the Minister of State for being here. I thank Senators Ní Chuilinn and Harmon for bringing forward this opportunity to speak on the report that was done by the sports committee two years ago. A lot of people have mentioned that the committee did an incredible amount of work. It is important to remember that was also the committee that was dealing with other issues as well, such as RTÉ and other things, at the time. To find the time to do that report and do it with a lot of detail and work has to be commended. Everyone is unified in this position in terms of inclusion and bringing more people into sport. I often think about it. When I was younger and I think of the female sports athlete that I looked up to at the time, Sonia O'Sullivan was the obvious one when I was young looking at the Olympics. She was an inspiration to the whole nation. If we are honest with ourselves and we look at who we look up to now in sport in Ireland and who are the people who can inspire a nation, the majority of them are female sports athletes. Everyone talks about Katie Taylor. That was a phenomenal event in Dublin that night for her farewell. The Irish soccer team next month has an incredible opportunity and massive match in Cork against Kazakhstan to qualify for another World Cup. I am sure that is going to be an absolute sell out in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We all wish them well in that in a couple of weeks. In athletics, we have Sharlene Mawdsley from Tipperary. We have Rhasidat Adeleke. In swimming, we have Mona McSharry. In GAA, I have been at the past couple of camogie finals, which is a brilliant day for the family. I think Senator Ní Chuilinn was there as well this year at the Cork versus Galway final. That was an incredible game. Last year was an incredible game as well. I was watching Sorcha McCartan and some of the points she got that day are better than any points I have ever seen in Croke Park or any other stadium. She is a phenomenal player and inspiration to people. That is all good and it is positive. It is so important that people have individuals like that who achieve great success and who they can look up to. However, what we need to do is for people to be able to see that on the ground as well at small clubs and local level where they can look up to people in their own community and own village. It is not necessarily the Sorcha McCartans, the Rachael Blackmores or people like that but people in their own community who achieve greatness, whether that is a county final or playing at intercounty levels. Even though we have done an awful lot on inclusion, there is more we can do at that level. When I speak to friends at home and parents, there is such a want for their kids to be involved in sport because sport is good from a health perspective and fitness perspective, but there is a social element as well. Parents always naturally worry about their kids at certain ages and wonder if they will have friends, will they be included in a community or will they be part of a community of their own age group. Sport plays a leading role in that. It is so important, whether you are a boy or a girl, to have that opportunity to be in sports. The real important thing is that children at that age are treated similarly. If my two boys are playing sport in Tipperary, they should have the same facilities and the same treatment as Senator Scahill's two girls in Roscommon. There should be no difference in how they are treated or in terms of facilities. If we are being honest with ourselves, that is not always the case in all sports. We need to improve on that. That is why it is welcomed that we have the announcement of the sports capital grant applications opening on Monday. In previous applications, there has been a requirement in terms of inclusiveness and women's participation in sport. I hope that continues - I have no doubt that it will - but that it is even reinforced more and that it is not just a box-ticking exercise where a club can just say that it is doing something here or there, but that it is real inclusion and real equality in terms of treating people in sport. There also is the critically element in respect of people with disabilities and people from the LGBT community. An awful lot has been done there as well. Sport can play a big role in inclusiveness within communities. As I said at the start, we have seen the success of some of our athletes at international level in competitions right across the world. We need to build on that from the ground up. This report will play a key role in delivering that. We can be happy with some of the things we have achieved. I know the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, are committed to continuing that and to delivering on this report. I am sure that many Members will continue to support the Minister of State and the Minister to ensure the continued success of inclusion in sport. --- 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