I think you are a little bit biased.

I thank the Deputy for his question. While I have not met with Basketball Ireland over the past six months, I did meet with it in April for an introductory meeting regarding its development and other plans. I understand the question relates to playing of matches against Israel. In this regard, the draw for the 2027 Women's Euro Basket qualification group which placed Ireland in a group with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Luxembourg took place in July. I spoke on the phone to the CEO of Basketball Ireland who up…

As was outlined in my response, it is a matter for the national governing bodies and international sporting organisations to make their own decisions in this regard. From the point of view of the Government, it does not have a role in any individual sporting organisation's decisions. However, when it comes to the issue of Gaza, the Government has led out internationally and has taken a very strong and forthright line and approach regarding the war and the destruction that happened in Gaza. As well as seeking an out…

As a Government, Ireland has taken a very strong line in leading out and opposing what was happening in Gaza. I have already outlined that. However, the matter of participating in international competitions or otherwise is a matter for sporting organisations. That has always been the case and that will remain the case. It is not appropriate for the Government to get involved in an independent organisation's decision in that regard. That is the approach the Government will continue to take. I know the match took pla…

Euro 2028 is a really exciting opportunity for Ireland to co-host, along with England, Scotland and Wales, an internationally important soccer championship. We will host seven games in the competition, including a quarter-final. The Government will invest just over €92.9 million in supporting the event. It is anticipated the tournament will generate €449 million of socioeconomic benefits for the country. The main elements of the expected expenditure include funding for stadium costs, safety and security, including …

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Irish soccer team on its wonderful performance last Sunday and on the Thursday before that. Football has given us some of our best national memories over the years. The recent matches, particularly the one on Sunday, provided, once again, wonderful national moments that brought the whole country together and brought great energy and excitement. I wish the team well in the draw taking place this afternoon for the play-offs that will be held in March. I congratulate, in par…

I will be looking to see how we can maximise the benefit across the country. Young Troy Parrott is a wonderful example of the quality of young players we have in this country. That is something the Government is backing. As the Deputy knows, we stepped up very significantly in the recent budget by allocating €3 million to the development of football academies for the year ahead. We want to build on that. We recognise the changed circumstances post Brexit and the importance of making sure young players have the oppo…

We have made a massive start and it has been very much welcomed within the footballing community. We look forward to seeing it reap benefits in the time ahead.

We discussed this in good detail earlier, but the objective will be to ensure there is as much of a legacy and impact across the country from the hosting of Euro 2028 as possible. Being able to host seven games as part of the tournament, including the quarter final, is a great opportunity. I have no doubt it will really take hold of the country over the course of the period. As I said, we estimate the cost at €92 million to €93 million. The economic return to the wider economy will be much more significant than tha…

We are certainly determined, from a Government point of view, to maximise the opportunity and to ensure from a point of view of participation that every opportunity is taken to ensure it cuts through and gets people involved in football and other sport. The commitment of the Government in the most recent budget to football and the establishment of academies speaks to how we have been supporting football very strongly in the country. While at Government level will be doing all we can, there is no doubt moments like …

We should not forget the support that we have given to football over the past number of years, which we continue to give. Some €75 million was allocated to the FAI between 2019 and 2024, with €30 million specifically to support football development aimed at promoting participation by young people. That has been added to in the most recent budget through the investment in the academies and the very significant ongoing investment through the community sports facilities fund, which supports the work of soccer clubs ri…

I thank the Deputy. He has been a strong advocate, as has the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, for sports capital development and for backing clubs in his constituency. We are preparing to reopen to new applications for the community sports facility fund by the end of spring with the objective of making funding announcements by the end of next year. The recent pattern has generally been a round every two years. The 2024 round saw record funding of about €270 million in total. Over 3,000 clubs across the country benefited f…

This is something Deputy Smith is committed to and he has been speaking to me about it separately. I look forward to visiting the Deputy and Deputy Maxwell in the constituency in advance of the next round opening up, and making sure that we provide every opportunity for clubs to apply and to be funded. It is wonderful to see the impact and the value for money that any investment by the Government results in. When it comes into a club, you see everyone come together. You see people giving voluntarily of their time, …

First, and as I have previously and consistently said, it is imperative that it is made clear that there is simply no place for abuse of any kind in sport and that there is zero tolerance for any actions that endanger welfare, whether for participants, staff or those who work for and support sports across the country. Sport Ireland, which is funded by my Department, works with national governing bodies of sport, NGBs, to ensure that appropriate policies are put in place to take a proactive approach to safeguarding …

Sport Ireland has a comprehensive approach to athlete well-being and that is reflected in its athlete welfare policy under the high performance strategy, which runs from 2021 to 2032. To support that policy, national governing bodies are expected to develop their own internal documents, which reflect best practice strategies in respect of athlete welfare. In 2021, Sport Ireland introduced a culture evolution programme to support national governing bodies to protect and maximise the holistic experience and welfare o…

We do it by having the right policies and support network in place, as I said, in terms of the work over the past three or four years, in terms of developing the national approach and the programme to support this and, in particular, the appointment of the high performance culture and integrity adviser to support that work. The latter is an important piece to do with it. Sport Ireland certainly is leading out on this. We very much support that work and acknowledge the absolute importance of it too.

That same rule does not apply to Ministers who appear before the Seanad, does it?

I thank Senator Andrews for raising this matter. The Irish under-17 team are appearing in their first U-17 World Cup match in Qatar today, against Panama. I wish them well in the match. It is good to see that it will be shown live on RTÉ 2. Likewise - and, being from Donegal, I can be more neutral than Senator Andrews - I wish Shamrock Rovers and Cork well in what I hope will be a really good showcase for League of Ireland football in the FAI Cup final this Sunday. I was glad to attend the FAI Women's Cup final Sun…

Senator Andrews will know as well as I do that, across all sectors of society, and with the organisations we deal with and the demands in terms of public services, the asks are always far more every year than the capacity to develop. In terms of running a good economy, we have to have the capacity to incrementally improve things every year. The Government commitment to football in this budget saw football as the sport that was prioritised by far the most within the increase in budgetary allocation. For example, €10…

I thank the Acting Chair and all in the Seanad for the opportunity to discuss how we can continue to support what is a really important and valuable resource for every community across the country, that is, the post office network and the postal service, which is organised by and under the administration of An Post. At the outset, I join with the Acting Chair and recognise the commendations by Senators of Dylan Browne McMonagle. As the name of McConalogue is known even less than McMonagle-----