Fáiltím roimh an deis an t-eolas is déanaí a thabhairt don Teach faoinár bpleananna forbartha um chaipiteal spóirt agus táim ag tnúth le tuairimí na dTeachtaí a chloisteáil. Ba mhaith liom a rá ar dtús gur mhór an onóir dom gur ceapadh mé i m'Aire Stáit le freagracht as an spórt agus as an gcorpoideachas. Ó a ceapadh mé, chuaigh tiomantas, paisean agus fís na n-eagraíochtaí spóirt ar fud na tíre go mór i bhfeidhm orm agus iad ag iarraidh a n-áiseanna spóirt a fhorbairt. Boosting participation in sport is at the hea…

I will.

It is.

It will be here before Christmas. I guarantee that.

I made it happen.

The chairperson of the club is well known in County Meath.

That never happens here.

They were on to me as well.

Are you talking about Kildare or Louth?

I thank everybody who took part in the debate. The programme generates enormous interest and the Government is doing a lot for sport, as has generally been acknowledged in the Chamber. As people are wishing their local teams well, I have to mention some of my own because there are a number of Leinster games this weekend. Interestingly, Kilbride is playing Amsterdam in the junior Leinster championship. That is probably not a first, but it is certainly unusual and indicates how widespread the GAA is becoming. When I …

It has been really good. We have worked with it to make sure that happens. I pay tribute to it. That was not always the case with the FAI. I am not saying it is all its fault, but it is not all the fault of the Government either. I do not know how many football clubs applied for the LSSIF scheme. Finn Harps FC was granted €3.99 million. I want to give that money to it and for the stadium to be built. In line with the standard procedures for grants, we are waiting for correspondence from the FAI in terms of co-fundi…

Of the 33 LSSIF grants that were awarded in January 2020, two or three of them are open at this stage. It is a few. We looked at the issues there. The pandemic and construction inflation were the issues. We opened up a top-up process to those already awarded grants.

Almost all, 28 or 29, applied for it. In the coming weeks, I hope to be announcing the top-ups. I have to engage with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, on this but I hope to open a new round of the LSSIF as well. When the top-ups are announced, people will say they did not get the chance, and they did not because they did not make an application originally. However, I want to be able to open that process up again but that is going to require a lot of work for the people who want to apply and for the national governing …

I thank Deputy Buckley. I acknowledge what his constituents are going through today. He is doing his job on behalf of his constituents here. I also spoke to Deputies O'Connor and Padraig O'Sullivan, Billy Kelleher MEP and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, about various aspects of this matter. I thank all the public representatives for the information they are getting. I will try to give as much information as I have here, but, as the Deputy has acknowledged he has placed questions on the record and …

I acknowledge the community response. People tend to look after one another in a situation such as this. Politicians work together. The public certainly want to feel that people are there responding to the immediate need. The community has done that. I know that Sarsfields GAA club in Glanmire, for example, prevented further flooding from happening.

To be fair to Cork County Council, on foot of the warnings, work was done in anticipation of the flooding and I am sure that protected some people as well. As regards the Department of Social Protection, community welfare officers have been on the ground in the Deputy's constituency, in Midleton and Youghal, today. I am sure he has been in touch with them and with other people all day. I can only imagine-----

The information I have is that people are on the ground. There is a humanitarian assistance scheme in place. There is a €10 million fund in place for that. Separately, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is ready to activate the flooding support scheme for small businesses and sports clubs that are unable to secure flood insurance and are affected by the flooding. There are details in the written reply as to how those measures can be availed of. We will certainly look at sports clubs as well if there…

I apologise for the absence of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. I understand she is at a Justice Council meeting in Luxembourg at the moment. I sincerely apologise that she is not here to answer this. Deputy McAuliffe will be aware from previous responses to parliamentary questions submitted to the Minister that records indicate that two allegations of child sexual abuse have been made in respect of the Probation Service. Both relate to alleged incidents in the 1970s by a former staff member who is now deceased. As th…

I reiterate what the Deputy and I have both said about reporting any crimes. It is important to always say that. Such reports will be treated seriously and sensitively. I will pass on the points the Deputy made to the Minister.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He speaks for all of us when he praises foster parents and families for all the work they do. Foster care is the preferred model for the care of children in care who cannot live with their families of origin. In recognition of the importance of foster care in contributing to positive and improved outcomes for children in care, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, made it a priority to secure a meaningful increase to the foster care allowance in this year's budget to su…