There is a need to provide proper facilities to encourage young people to take part in sport.
In the Phoenix Park two old huts with broken and dangerous floors are the only changing rooms available.
It's been estimated that only 15 per cent of Irish people indulge in any form of sport.
A growing rate of juvenille crime in Ireland raises the question of a need for investment in sport to provide an outlet for young people.
While swimming pools are being constructed in increasing numbers around the country, the simplest and cheapest facilities for sports such as athletics are severely lacking. In other countries, special training is provided for coaches to work on athletic programmes for young people. These countries also have a designated government department to provide these services and facilities.
A poor performance in international sport is testament to this neglect in sporting activities for young people. The lack of facilities affects both boys and girls.
Some girls describe the poor conditions in the changing rooms which leak when it rains and are very cold during the winter months.
This episode of 'Tangents' was broadcast on 22 May 1973. The reporter is John O'Donoghue.
A miscellany of events, entertainment, opinions and personalities, 'Tangents' was first aired on Monday 25 September 1972 and ran until 1974. Tangents was presented by Cathal O’Shannon and Doireann Ní Bhriain on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and by John O’Donoghue each Tuesday.
