I thank the Minister for coming to the House. A few weeks ago the nation was intensely proud of Sonia O'Sullivan and her magnificent achievement in winning the silver medal in the 5000 metres in Sydney. In the aftermath of this magnificent Sydney performance, we had the unedifying dispute between the Minister, Deputy McDaid, and Mr. Pat Hickey of the IOC, with attempts to apportion blame for a perceived lack of achievement by the rest of the Irish team. The Minister deserved a gold medal for brass neck and hypocrisy because the reality is that in three and a half years he has failed to put in place the capital, organisational and coaching resources necessary to enable young Irish athletes give of their best and develop their full potential. Outstanding young Irish athletes are still receiving minimal or no support from the Government.
A striking case in point is the history of Glin Boxing Club in Bonnybrook Parish, Coolock which is in the northside partnership area and is one of the most disadvantaged districts in Ireland. It is a very distinguished boxing club and over 25 years has produced many Irish champions, all-Ireland winners, international boxers and successful competitors in European and World championships under its two outstanding trainers, Tommy Thompson and Shay O'Hare. Usually there are up to 50 youths involved in training and competing.
About two years ago the home ring and gym of Glin Boxing Club was burned when there was a fire at the local Bonnybrook scout troop centre on Bunratty Drive. The club mentors, led by Mr. O'Hare, with strong support from me, tried every available avenue to procure a new gym in Coolock, so far, without success. For one reason, many of the local public venues are chock-a-block with the huge number of voluntary and community bodies in the Coolock area and their associated activities. On at least two occasions, in 1999 and 2000, I have drawn the attention of the Minister, Deputy McDaid, and that of my local colleague, the Minister, Deputy Woods, to this appalling situation but have received neither encouragement nor help. The club could not chase the local sports capital grants last year because it had no home and no address.
The upshot of this disgraceful situation is that for nearly two years a dedicated group of young athletes has been left to train on the streets and in a garden shed belonging to one of the parents. Amazingly, these boxers include the brilliant young Irish international and world junior bronze medallist at fly weight, Darren Campbell of Bonnybrook, who is a product of the great training system run at Glin by Tommy Thompson and Shay O'Hare.
The core of my criticism of the Minister's comments in Sydney is the extraordinary situation where young Darren Campbell was preparing for an Irish international bout against the US in America by effectively training in his father's garden shed and without any proper gym or sporting facilities. The Minister cannot at this stage be taken seriously in relation to the development of local and international sport.
Yesterday the Minister published the report of his Department for 1999 and I note he stresses in his strategic aim that participation in sport and recreation, particularly by disadvantaged communities, is one of his core aims. Yet under the sports capital programme in 1999 he only spent £14.4 million on 416 projects out of nearly 2,000 submissions. It was far too little given the number of clubs throughout Ireland, such as the Glin Boxing Club, which have no facilities and which are in a disgraceful situation. One could spend at least £1 million in each of the 42 Dáil constituencies – Carlow-Kilkenny would be no different – for the next five or six years to try to get our facilities up to scratch if the Minister is serious about putting forward a very strong Irish team in Athens in 2004.
I appreciate that the Minister started the international carding scheme, with £1.1 million being allocated last year, and I understand Darren Campbell was a beneficiary. It seems, however, the Minister is not devoting the kind of resources necessary, not just at local level. Distinguished international sport begins at local level and we must be prepared to put in resources locally. As I previously asked the Minister and the Taoiseach, what is the point in creating an elite campus costing £500 million at Abbotstown on the M50 if we still have athletes, such as the Glin boxers, training on the streets or in this case in a garden shed?
I call on the Minister to match his fine words with action to resolve the outrageous situation of the young boxers in Coolock. Over the past two decades Glin Boxing Club has provided recreational and fitness training for more than 40 young boys and men from Bonnybrook parish in Coolock each week. It is now crucial that the Minister, Deputy McDaid, ends the pointless blather that occurred in Sydney, and takes urgent steps to provide local sports bodies such as Glin Boxing Club with permanent, dedicated gym and training facilities. Is it any wonder only one of our boxers made it to Sydney?