Government accused of failing next Troy Parrott by lack of sports funding for inner-city Dublin

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said there was no full-sized football pitch in Dublin's inner city, 'a community that has produced extraordinary sport and talent'

Troy Parrott celebrates scoring a penalty against Czechia tonight. Picture: Inpho/Ryan Byrne

The Government has been accused of failing the next Troy Parrott by not investing in sport in Dublin.

At leaders' questions ahead of Ireland's showdown with Czechia, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said the capital received just over €24 per capita in sports funding compared to other counties like Leitrim, which receive over €100.

Mr Gannon said there was no full-sized football pitch in Dublin's inner city, north or south, and there was "a disparity between those who have and those who have not" when it comes to sports funding.

"In this country, one of the players carrying the hopes of the nation on his back is Troy Parrott. Troy comes from Portland Place in the heart of Dublin's north inner city, a community that has produced extraordinary sport and talent, not because of what the State has provided, but in spite of what it has.

We are very good in this country at celebrating our sporting heroes, the jerseys, the flags, and I hope even the open top buses soon. What we are less good at is being honest about the gap between how loudly we celebrate these athletes and how little we invest in the communities that produced them.

"There is not a single full-size football pitch available to children in Dublin's inner city, north or south."

Mr Gannon said the ESRI had identified issues nearly 20 years ago that showed sports funding in Ireland was "structurally regressive" and money flows into clubs which already have facilities and communities that already participate at scale. 

He said the Irish Sports Monitor showed a 19-point gap in participation between higher and lower socioeconomic groups, adding the Government had invested over €1bn in sports since 2018 and "that gap has not moved in two years".

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In response, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he "agrees and disagrees" with Mr Gannon.

"I do take the point about needing to make sure that funding is getting to those most in need...but obviously disadvantage can be rural and urban.

"The broader point you make in terms of the lack of a full-size pitch for use of children in the inner city, north or south, is a very valid and a very real one. I will commit Government to working constructively with your own community, your own constituency, and with Dublin City Council on it as well."