As I raise a sporting issue it is only right that I pay tribute to the late Jack Lynch and send my sympathy to his family.
The Minister knows that we regard Tuam town as the home of football in County Galway. We have always stressed that Tuam stadium is good enough for county football finals, county senior championships and Connacht finals and is a stadium worth preserving and promoting. There has been a campaign in the media to downgrade and ridicule Tuam stadium. We saw this before the Connacht final when there were even reports of infestations of rats and mice in the stadium which were completely untrue. The Minister knows that more than 30,000 people attended the Connacht final in Tuam. This is roughly the same number who would attend a championship match or final in any of the other stadiums in Connacht, whether Roscommon or Castlebar or the proposed development in Pearse Stadium.
Great work has been done in Tuam stadium to improve the facilities, particularly by FÁS schemes. However, no major capital grants have been given by a succession of Governments for development work at the stadium and I ask the Minister to look at the application that has been made. There is no conflict between what is pro posed for Tuam stadium and the development of Pearse Stadium in Galway. Galway is the second largest county in Ireland and there is concern about the development of Gaelic football in the city and a need for facilities in west Galway. These needs should be addressed. However, I have consistently lobbied the Minister for capital funding for Tuam for the past two years. The Minister was hardly a month in office when he agreed to meet a delegation from the Tuam stadium committee. I thank him for granting that meeting and for the reception he gave the deputation.
If money is available for GAA pitches in Connacht – what are known as country grounds – Tuam is entitled to some of that money. The fact that senior college matches are played there is an important factor. Tuam is the principal pitch for football training in the county and that was certainly to the benefit of Galway last year. Tuam stadium committee seeks a £200,000 capital grant and I believe it is entitled to it. The committee needs to cover both sides of the stand, to provide fencing, particularly along the back of the terraces and to provide barriers for safety. The Tuam stadium application received a very high mark under the points system in 1998 but it was not successful.
The fact that Gaelic games are played in Tuam means a lot to the economy of Tuam and north Galway. The stadium has been used for county and Connacht finals and in a few weeks time it will host the Connacht club championship final between the County Galway champions Killererin and the County Mayo champions, Crossmolina. The Minister knows that this pitch is my priority. It was the first capital project I mentioned to the Minister and I look forward to a positive reply from him.