Like everyone here, I was disappointed that our boys in green did not qualify for the World Cup on this occasion, but they made us proud and reminded us of what it is like to dream. I wish the girls in green the best of luck as they progress in the campaign for the qualifiers. They are inspiring young girls up and down the country. The key to this debate is investment in our young people, our clubs and our communities. Throughout my constituency are a number of excellent soccer clubs that are very well organised. There are Kilbarrack United, St. Malachy's FC, St. Paul's Artane, Killester Donnycarney, Raheny United, Howth Celtic and Baldoyle United to name a few. Across the constituency, there are not enough facilities. I refer, in particular, to all-weather pitches. We have had a sodding wet winter, and the spring has not been much better. Ordinary grass pitches are not playable for periods of the year, and training is impossible. The solution to this is all-weather pitches. Unfortunately, we have had an issue with the habitats directive. Where there have been applications for all-weather facilities, there have been hiccups with regard to the brent geese. We are beginning to break through that particular problem, but it will certainly restrict the numbers of all-weather facilities that will be available to us. Unfortunately, given our weather patterns, there will be a continued demand for all-weather facilities. We have burgeoning numbers in clubs. We have burgeoning female participation. It is skyrocketing and it is brilliant that it is. These all-weather pitches are life savers to our clubs. Teams can train longer into the evening and the surface allows them to have training sessions and games right throughout the year. These teams want to play throughout the year. They do not want to just be playing when the sod is dry. Clubs in the area they tell me that female participation is exploding. That is fantastic to see this. I have heard countless stories from clubs that they do not have changing or toilet facilities for their girls' teams. This is unacceptable in this day and age, and it has to change. I urge that this be prioritised in the upcoming round of sports capital funding and will be made available particularly in tandem with local authorities. I think of St. Anne's Park in Raheny where a lot of clubs play and where there are no facilities for the female participants in particular. Our clubs take young people off the streets where they could otherwise get involved with the wrong things and go down the wrong road. Investment in soccer and in sport is really important. Like Deputy Cleere, I thank the volunteers who get up early to set out the cones and hang the nets, who stay late planning training sessions and formations, who wash the kits and fill the water bottles and who give lifts in order that players and supporters can get to games and training. They are the backbone of our clubs. They do Trojan work that often goes unnoticed. This is really an opportunity for all of us in this House to thank them for the work they do. The grassroots are the most important part of any sport. It is not enough to praise our teams and players when they succeed. We have to support them long before they pull on the green jersey and have a senior cap.

Sentiment score: 0.15