I pay tribute to Republic of Ireland captain, Nathan Collins, who, like me, is a native of Leixlip. We both went to the same school, Scoil Bhríde. That is where the similarities end. On the football pitch, we were very different. Nathan is a lovely fella. He has been around the town and is a brilliant role model. I was also lucky enough to grow up on the same estate as Emma Byrne. I was across the green from her. She is another brilliant role model for Ireland. She was excellent with Arsenal. She was the year below me in school. I know the impact she made on women's sport, not only on the pitch but also off it. She has been transcendent and we have seen how the game of football has grown and developed for women in this country. Andrew Omobamidele is also from my estate in Leixlip. We in Leixlip have been very successful when it comes to football in my lifetime. When I think about football, I think about people such as Larry Kenny and Ray McCauley, the men who were there for me when I was six, seven and eight and went along with my brothers to the local football pitch at Leixlip United. Those were the lads who coached and inspired us, and inspired a generation of people. I also think of my other coaches and have the opportunity to think of them today. People such as Colm Harper, Liam L'Estrange and Tony Ryan are no longer with us but also made a huge contribution. That is where I want to think about the volunteers and how we can support them here today. North Kildare is a growing area with a need for growing infrastructure across all our football clubs. I look at Leixlip United, with Paul Martin in charge. I look at Liffeybank FC, with Jim Keating, who was in my office recently looking for facilities. There are also Fiachra Kirwan at Maynooth FC, Debbie Morone at Ballyoulster United AFC and Derek Meaney at Celbridge Town AFC, which recently launched a new campaign for Astroturf in Celbridge. Those are the football clubs that are closest to me. I know there are other football clubs looking for even more, and we need to support them. I look forward to supporting them through the capital grants, which I know will be coming soon. We can see in the areas where we are building houses - and in north Kildare we have been fortunate to have built houses and apartments - that we have been slow to develop the social infrastructure behind them. We have been completely reliant on volunteers in the area. We must ensure that we have the facilities for the pitches. Liffeybank was sharing with Confey Celtic. It does not even have toilets that children or the ladies' team can use in close proximity. I am consistently having discussions with Kildare County Council to get that resolved. It is a basic facility. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to the issue in the clubs in his area. While we are building the houses, we have other sports and facilities. As Deputy Clendennan alluded to, we must ensure we have multi-use facilities. Kerdiffstown has been a model. There are football pitches laid out and AstroTurf. With development levies in councils, that should be the place to which we are going. Deputy Quinlivan is in the Chamber. In Limerick city, there is not necessarily space to develop but we need to have pitches for hurling, soccer and rugby in a multi-use facility. That is key, as we look towards the sports capital grants and, indeed, how we run things in the future. Ultimately, we need to have facilities for future generations. We need to have the places from which the next Nathan Collins will come. Just as important as the next Nathan Collins, we need to think about the children who might not necessarily have that talent but who want to be able to play with their friends. They want to turn up, whether for the first team, the second team, the blue team, the red team, the yellow team or the fifth team. We need to ensure there is space for them and their parents. All that most of us are trying to do is to make sure we have the best community possible. Football has helped to shape many of those communities, including, as I have laid out, my own. I want to be part of that and I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue.

Sentiment score: 0.26