I welcome that the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, is here to answer this question. It is a very important issue. I think everyone has seen it or heard about it on the airwaves. A number of us were at the match in Oriel Park on Friday night. I like to make Dundalk FC's home games as much as I possibly can. The Louth derby is something you look forward to. We were there and it was good to have the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, there for the opening of a fabulous pitch with the new lights. It was provided by sports capital funding. It is fair to say that the deposit was paid by the Dundalk FC Supporters Trust, a group of Dundalk fans who have come together to be there in case anything is needed. Dundalk FC has had its issues, as people have seen, over the past number of years. Now we think we are in a fairly positive place. Obviously what happened on Friday night was an absolute disgrace. It needs to be called out. We all welcome that Dundalk FC and Drogheda United are working together. A 12-year-old boy was burnt badly. In saying that, it could have been worse. We know there is nerve damage and facial burns, and his clothes were burnt. He could have literally been up in flames. My thoughts go out to him. I commend the work of the Order of Malta. There was also violence in Clarke Station. The Garda has to be given whatever information there is. From a security point of view, the Garda has to review what needs to be reviewed and what can be improved. Security needs to be looked at. Everybody will tell you - I am sure the Minister of State has heard this before - that the problem is that minors cannot be patted down. Unfortunately, some people will use minors and some minors will attempt to take flares into games. We have all seen flares used. As much as the FAI might have a zero-tolerance approach, people have seen them. They are used for dramatic effect with lots of colour, etc. What was different in this scenario is that it was very organised and flares were used to burn a pitch. This has to be called out. It has brought the issue to a head. It is vital that the Minister is meeting the FAI tomorrow. A solution has to be addressed. There have to be serious consequences. We could be talking about tens of thousands of euro worth of damage. As much as I welcome Drogheda United working with Dundalk FC, there is a necessity for Drogheda United to pay this money. We have to look at means of imposing a penalty. It is hard to call these guys "fans". A small number of them destroy everything for everyone else. It has to become utterly unacceptable. Their own peer group must not accept any element of this in any way. I have to say that the senior Minister, in saying "a plague on all your houses" and stalling or pausing funding for AstroTurf pitches, has not helped. We know that there has been underfunding of the FAI over many years. I do not think it was not helpful in any way. I hope the Minister of State is here to state that that will be rowed back on. I assume there is not a huge number of projects that fall into that bracket. The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, need to work alongside the FAI and other stakeholders - in this case, Dundalk FC and Drogheda United - to find a real solution to something that is a problem across the League of Ireland, which does not have the money for security that English Premier League teams have.

Sentiment score: 0.04

Deputy Byrne has put out a statement. I have spoken to her many times on this. She calls out what was abject criminal activity. Everyone will be aware that Deputy Byrne is the co-chair of Drogheda United. People will also know that she called on the FAI to ensure that Ireland would not play genocidal Israel. On that basis, action has been taken by Drogheda United. That is being dealt with at the minute. It probably limits what Deputy Byrne can speak about, but she has 100% said that this has been an ongoing problem with the League of Ireland. I will tell the Minister of State what she told me on the day. We were both there in Oriel Park. The first thing she was worried about was getting to that child, which was the right thing to do, because she had been contacted by the parents. The next thing she queried was: what do you think is going to happen when I ask about League of Ireland funding, of which there has been a shortage over a number of years? I see this being thrown back as an excuse on why that money would not be spent. It sounds like the Minister of State is not in complete agreement with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. The Minister went over the top in saying, "plague on all your houses". I hope what he is doing is a shot across the bow. There is a responsibility on the FAI, League of Ireland and clubs to find a solution to this. All information has to be provided to the Garda but legislative changes that need to considered. The two Ministers would need to do work on that. There are legislative powers in Britain relating to those who would ever consider doing some of the actions that happened in Oriel Park. Regarding families, I agree. I was contacted by one man who I know very well. He said that his daughter said, "I don't want to go to a game ever again." The daughter of another friend of mine, who is even younger, was doing ball girl. He said, "Imagine, she was over there." That is a rethink. That is not good enough. I hope those people will rethink. I hope the Minister, never mind worrying about myself and Deputy Byrne, would worry about the issue and a back track that should happen by him. Money needs to be supplied to the League of Ireland. The Minister of State agreed previously that there has been underinvestment over many years. I welcome this investment. We need to see more. We need to make sure that we work alongside the League of Ireland and the FAI to find a solution.

Sentiment score: 0.09

A successful year for Dundalk FC as well.

Sentiment score: 0.71