Some 17 Members wish to put questions so I ask them to be brief.

We sought confirmation this morning that this would be the Taoiseach's last Leaders' Questions. Not surprisingly, we did not get confirmation. I was hoping the Taoiseach and I would have another box off at some stage, perhaps on Tuesday week.

The Taoiseach's reference to fisticuffs brings me to the subject of my question this morning. It relates to the situation of Irish boxing at present, how the Minister of State with responsibility for sport has summoned the elected officials of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association to his office this morning and the comments from officialdom to the effect that boxing is in crisis. I ask the Taoiseach, in his last days in office, to remind Ministers to stand back from involving themselves too overtly in certain situations. Boxing in Ireland is not in crisis. It has had tremendous success in recent years and not only in the Olympics-----

We lost the national coach.

It depends on one's metric. That was wrong. I am not taking sides on this but I am speaking about the hundreds of clubs across the country that have grown dramatically, giving opportunities to young people. Officials need to be careful about language and talking about something being in crisis when it has never been stronger in parishes and communities across the country. That is my point. The sword of Damocles should not be held over boxing officials with the threat that if they do not come to heel their grants will be pulled, with key performance targets being mentioned.

The Deputy is over time.

In the name of God, our only successes in recent Olympics along with rowing have been our boxers. The biggest problem in the recent Olympics was the quality of international refereeing. That was plain for all to see. There should be a little more balance and perspective. I accept there is a need for structural changes and for unity.

Ministers in particular should be very careful about getting involved in selection issues. They should stand back from them. Those in officialdom who are disbursing taxpayers' money should be equally clear that it is not for them to be threatening every now and again that if one does not come to heel in accordance with their diktat, the money will be pulled. A bit of balance and perspective is required. I ask the Taoiseach to give a reminder to the Ministers in that regard.

Having said all that, I wish the Taoiseach the very best in retirement if, indeed, this is his last day taking the Order of Business and Taoiseach's Questions. I also wish well his wife, Fionnuala. I have wished them well previously.

I agree with the Deputy that boxing is not in crisis. The sports capital system has supported boxing clubs during the terms of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments over the years. The number of young boys and girls involved in boxing as a discipline, science and sport continues to increase. On Monday, I was in the north inner city and visited Ballybough Boxing Club. It has brand new facilities and really good coaches and it is doing a wonderful job. I am a big supporter of Bernard Dunne. He is a wonderful example to young people. He rose to become world champion in his weight division. I hope the personalities involved in the matter raised by the Deputy can work this out. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, Irish boxers have been very successful in many Olympic Games. Ireland is recognised by other countries as being outstanding in this regard and one of the top countries in the world. I hope, therefore, that the powers that be, or the personalities within the IABA, along with the Minister of State dealing with this, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, and the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, can come to an understanding that is in the interest of thousands of young people and in order that there will be a body that works in everybody's interest. After all, the Deputy's Government and a succession of Governments have put money into the facilities in Dublin and around the country. Through these, young people learn discipline, character formation and the science of boxing, if that is what they love. It is a sport in which they can rise to be world champions in their respective weight divisions. The Deputy's message is one that I fully understand.