Wexford councillors vote against making public pitch free of charge despite claims ‘the next Troy Parrott’ could be playing there

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The cost of playing at the football pitch in Gorey Town Park has been reduced by 25 pc despite calls to make it completely free of charge. Previously, it had cost local teams €40 an hour to rent the pitch, plus an extra €20 to use the dressing rooms, but, following a request from local councillor Craig Doyle, those rates have been reduced to €30 and €5 respectively.

However, some councillors believe that underage players, children aged between 8-16, should not face any cost for using the facility.

At the November meeting of the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD) Anita McLoughlin said the council’s annual cost for maintaining the pitch was approximately €9,000.

“That includes the maintenance, litter picking, weed treatment, installing a top dressing which takes place every two years, line-marking, and our online booking system,” she said.

A separate fee of €5,000 for the excavation of the two goal areas was not included in the estimate.

Currently, three local national schools use the pitch free of charge and they, along with the clubs, contributed to the 311 hours of use the pitch saw last year. Proposing the new reduced rates, director of services Liz Hore said the council was willing to run the pitch at a loss to ensure it was as affordable as possible for clubs and their players.

“We worked out that we would receive an annual income of €7,000 at those rates,” she said. “We have to run the operational costs, we can’t run at a deficit. And we want to reinvest the money into additional works at the pitch, to enhance the facility.”

With Cllr Doyle proposing a two-tier system with adults charged full-price and children given a reduced rate, Cllr Joe Sullivan went a step further. Enthused by the exploits of the Irish national team, he said that by providing the facility free of charge Wexford County Council (WCC) could unwittingly unearth the next great talent.

Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Joe Sullivan.

“I would be opposed to any charge for underage players, for those aged 8-16,” he began. “It’s a public amenity, we’re a local authority and we’re in the business of providing facilities for the public.”

Noting that WCC has an annual budget of €165m, Cllr Sullivan said that many of the clubs who use the pitch are trying to fundraise to develop their own facilities.

“If that’s all being spent on renting a pitch how can we expect them to raise funds for their own ground and eventually move out of the park?” he asked.

Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist of the day, the Fianna Fáil councillor said that the next Troy Parrott could already be strutting his stuff on the playing fields of Gorey.

“There’s a social dividend for young people being involved in sport, I listened to Troy Parrot’s mother speak about her son growing up in a seriously deprived area and how he gave her no bother because he went down to Belvedere Boys to the people who were working hard to keep young lads on the straight and narrow.

“Who’s to say the next Troy Parrott isn’t playing at that park? All these guys came up playing on public parks.”

But Cllr Pip Breen had a counter-argument.

“85 pc of the clubs in Co Wexford, whether they be soccer, GAA or anything else, are based outside of the towns and are self-funded,” he said. “They don’t ask for anyone’s help. Are we going to fund the town teams but not the country teams? I don’t think a special case should be made for the town clubs.”

Ultimately, with two opposing proposals, it was put to a vote: with councillors given the option of voting for the reduced rates or voting to make the pitch free of charge for underage players.

Cllrs Joe Sullivan, Mary Farrell, Craig Doyle, and Nicky Boland voted to make the pitch free of charge. Cllrs Donal Kenny, Anthony Donohue, Darragh McDonald, Pip Breen, and Oliver Walsh voted for the reduced rates.

As a result, with the vote at 5-4, the proposal to reduce the hourly rate at the pitch from €40 to €30 was carried.