Mr Gannon told Tánaiste Simon Harris during Thursday’s Leaders’ Questions session that there is not one full-sized football pitch in Dublin city centre. “Troy comes from Portland Place in the heart of Dublin’s north inner city, a community that has produced extraordinary sporting talent, not because of what the State has provided but in spite of what it has not,” Mr Gannon said. But Mr Gannon was also keen to point out that it is not a case that sport is not funded in Ireland. “Primary school children from lower socio-economic groups have lower rates of weekly sports participation (87%) than their peers from higher socio-economic groups (95%). In his response to Mr Gannon, Mr Harris said there is a chance to get the funding model right, to allow sport do more to tackle disadvantage and inequality and pledged to work with Mr Gannon in the city centre.

Source: Irish Examiner March 28, 2026 01:08 UTC