It will be a great day when the taxpayer happens to get the benefit. The Government could not care less about the schools. That is all I can conclude from what I have heard here tonight and on Second Stage.
In relation to this section I asked the Minister the cost of that measure and of giving that relief. He did not reply so I take it the Minister of State has not got that information available now. Maybe she will have it tomorrow. There might be a great deal more information about the Bill then and we will know what we are talking about. I ask Deputies on the other side of the House how cold and hard they can be when they just could not care less about the impact. They say they will do this anyway. When somebody asks about it they have not got the information because they have never considered it. They have a stony, hardfaced approach of "Just go and do it" and the Labour Party trot along with them: "What do we want facts for? Why do we want to know who is affected?" Surely that is obvious to anyone who has listened to the debate so far tonight.
My second amendment reads:
In page 3, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following subsection:
"(3) (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, where damage the aggregate amount of which exceeds £100 is caused to any premises or property whose principal purpose is the provision of recreational or sporting facilities, the person who suffers the damage shall be entitled to obtain compensation in accordance with the Malicious Injuries Acts 1981 and 1986.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection the following organisations shall be deemed to engage in recreational or sporting activities:—
(i) The Gaelic Athletic Association,
(ii) The Football Association of Ireland,
(iii) The Irish Rugby Football Union,
(iv) The Golfing Union of Ireland,
(v) Any other organisation as the Minister may by order designate".
I am quite happy to leave it to the Minister to designate any sporting organisation who may be appropriate or who should be excluded in this area. I mention the GAA because I can see that bodies like the GAA and the FAI are providing massive facilities throughout the country for the young people who are growing up, and the work these organisations do is an antidote to vandalism and crime. These are the people who are really helping to prevent crime. Surely Deputies on the other side realise that.
In another Bill debated here today the Government are bringing in a national lottery to get money allegedly to give to sporting organisations, although they do not say that in the Bill. It is just raising money for the Exchequer, but they say the intention is to spend this money principally on sporting organisations. If we accept the bona fides of the Government in that respect and therefore that the Government are anxious to encourage and promote these sporting organisations, in this Bill we find that the Government are anxious to penalise these organisations, to pull away the props and supports. You might say this will not happen very often. On the Bull Island St. Anne's golf club and the Suttonians Rugby Football Club were vandalised and burned down. These are the realities outside this House, not the cloud cuckooland Deputy Taylor and his colleagues live in. The Government are turning a blind eye, turning their back on all of these groups. Any Deputy who has anything to do with the soccer, Gaelic and rugby clubs will know that they attract hundreds of thousands of young people, engaging them in worth-while activities, giving them a sense of discipline, community and participation, and what do the Government say to them? "We do not care what you are doing, or if you are vandalised and burned down. We are not prepared to make an exception of you in this area. Run a few more flag days. Try to work up some more money."
What is the whole principle on which this Government are acting? The people who are doing the real work bring out the kids at weekends. They train them during the week. They scrounge to try to put some money together to provide facilities for them. They are finding difficulty in getting insurance. Last week in my constituency the sport weekend was cancelled because the organisers could not pay the insurance costs to cover public liability. We were all set to go out to this annual event and it was just cancelled, many young people were disappointed and let down. How are voluntary groups who are running these organisations supposed to manage? The Government could not care less. They are turning their backs on these groups. That is why I was giving the Minister and the Government an opportunity in amendment No. 2 to say to these people that they realise they are doing a special job, making a special contribution, helping to provide an antidote to crime and vandalism, and that they are giving worthwhile outlets to young people which is good for the community. They should be exempted because the IRA and the INLA are exempted. Why not exempt constructive organisations——