Anyone with any interest in the League of Ireland knows there has been a huge increase in attendances at League of Ireland games over the past few years. In my county, Kerry FC has started from a low base and it has added so much to the fabric of the town. It is a place to go, even socially, every second Friday night. Those spectators are part of the more than 1.1 million people who attended games last season, an overall increase of 8%. There is no doubt, as we heard earlier, that the League of Ireland is severely underfunded. Facilities are not up to standard. However, despite that it contributed over €164 million to the local economy in the last year that we have numbers for. Facilities are poor, especially when it comes to infrastructure and academies. Comparisons have been made to Croatia and Serbia. Croatia has 190 full-time academy coaches and Ireland has ten. Our budget is comparable to those in San Marino or Andorra. In fact, our youth set-up trails behind countries which are ranked 51 to 100 in men's and women's FIFA rankings. There was a plan to give €140,000 to each academy but now only €93,000 will be awarded to the 26 clubs. That is pennies compared with the money given to other sports. There should be a 1% increase in the betting tax and more should be given to soccer clubs because an awful lot more of the betting goes on football than on anything else. Last year the FAI presented a plan over 11 years of just over €7 million per year. Sinn Féin had suggested €5 million per year to build the infrastructure and return it to the top tier. I, too, want to congratulate and stand with Deputy Joanna Byrne on the stand she took about the Israel game. The fanbase support her, the people of Drogheda support her and we support her. I want to pay tribute to the club that is closest to my heart, Tralee Dynamos AFC. I pay tribute to the volunteers, the coaches and the players. It is Kerry's oldest club, at over 65 years old. I learned so much from Frank Sheridan and Noel Hegarty. Running an extra lap around the low field stood to me in the years to come. I also pay tribute to the AstroTurf facility, and the people who did the work on it, and the girls in the women’s club. Those clubs have been reaching out into the communities more than anybody else and deserve to be supported.

Sentiment score: 0.06