![\"Ireland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/93161_2826813.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIreland’s match against Czechia sparked debate in the Dail, with concerns raised over some fans being unable to watch it free to air.<\/p>\n
Ireland fans at the final whistle against Portugal(Image: INPHO\/Morgan Treacy)<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s upcoming match against Czechia was raised repeatedly in the Dail during Leaders\u2019 Questions, with the Social Democrats\u2019 Gary Gannon using the fixture to highlight a lack of facilities in inner city Dublin.<\/p>\n
In a rare bout of harmony during the session, Government and Opposition leaders <\/a>joined together to wish the Irish team luck ahead of their match in Prague on Thursday.<\/p>\n Sinn Fein\u2019s Pearse Doherty said he \u201choped the lads can do the business tonight\u201d, but said it was \u201cwrong\u201d that \u201cso many people in the north\u201d would not be able to watch the match free-to-air because it is geoblocked and said the Government needs to \u201curgently address\u201d this issue.<\/p>\n Simon Harris said: \u201cAt a time of real challenge in our country and in our world, of turmoil and uncertainty, the Irish team have really lifted our spirits.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a real sense of belief, from the youngest to the oldest person in the country, that Ireland can do this.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking on behalf of Labour, Conor Sheehan wished \u201cTroy Parrott and all the boys in green best of luck tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n The Social Democrats\u2019 Gary Gannon started with wishing the team <\/a>luck before continuing: \u201cOne of the players carrying the hopes of the nation on his back tonight is Troy Parrott.\u201d<\/p>\n He described how the footballer grew up in \u201cthe heart of Dublin\u2019s North inner city\u201d in an area which has \u201cproduced extraordinary sporting talent, not because of what the state has provided, but in spite of what it has not\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThere is not a single full-size football pitch available to children in Dublin\u2019s inner city, north or south.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the Irish Sports Monitor, a survey which measures sports participation in Ireland, shows \u201ca 19-point gap between higher and lower socioeconomic groups\u201d which has not moved in two years.<\/p>\n Dublin receives 26 euros 50 cent per person from the Sports Capital Programme, Mr Gannon said, which is half the national average.<\/p>\n The programme is the main way the government supports the development of sports facilities and helps clubs and organisations buy equipment.<\/p>\n Mr Gannon said this disparity between Dublin and the rest of the country was because, in order to access funding for capital projects through the programme, organisations need to own their own land or hold a 21-year lease.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe communities that already have facilities to get more and the communities that have nothing remain locked out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why golf clubs in this state apply at exactly three times the rate of boxing clubs, not because golf matters more, but because golf clubs and the likes have the cultural capital to access the system.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tanaiste said Mr Gannon\u2019s concern about the lack of a full-size pitch available to children in the inner city is \u201cvery valid\u201d and \u201cvery real\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Harris said a new round of funding would open \u201cin the coming weeks\u201d and said he would \u201ccertainly be up to the challenge\u201d of trying to bridge some of the funding gaps raised by Mr Gannon.<\/p>\n He also said the Government could \u201cdo more through sports funding\u201d to target disadvantaged communities in both rural and urban areas.<\/p>\n Want to see more from the Irish Mirror? 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