People living in rural areas have long had the perception that they have been largely forgotten about by successive governments. There is a growing regional imbalance between Dublin and rural Ireland. Over the decades Dublin has received enormous investment with more than €750 million on the port tunnel, €728 million on the red and green Luas lines, €368 million on the Luas cross-city, and upwards of €3 billion to be spent on metro north. I could go on and bore the House with more figures relating to past and future investment in the capital. I know the Taoiseach will say that much of that investment is of benefit to the country as a whole.

I do not want the Taoiseach to come back with the usual story that the Government invested €300 million on the N17-N18 Gort to Tuam motorway, as if that alone should satisfy us for another few decades. The people of the west deserved that investment.

On a recent visit to Galway, the Taoiseach visited Connacht Rugby's facilities at the Sportsground on College Road. Connacht Rugby has been very successful in recent years, reaching new heights, including winning the Pro 12 title in 2016. It has just completed a great season earning it a place at the top level of European club rugby. It is unique in a sporting context in the west in that it actively goes out the length and breadth of the province to help develop the game in local communities and schools. It is now embarking on a very ambitious project, costing €34 million, to build a state-of-the-art facility not just for Galway but for the west.

The Taoiseach personally has seen the facilities of Connacht Rugby, as has Deputy Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil. He knows they are not suitable for the calibre of team Connacht Rugby has become. The CEO of Connacht Rugby, Willie Ruane, and the head of operations, Karl Boyle, have done excellent work in bringing the project through the planning process to where it is now ready to proceed without delay.

The only issue now is with funding. Connacht Rugby has applied for €20 million from the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I again stress that the project is not for Galway but for the west, which we deserve. No major investment has gone into sporting facilities in the west on a scale of funding elsewhere.

Croke Park received €103 million and Aviva Stadium got €191 million. Other grounds, such as Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Thomond Park, Semple Stadium, the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, and Irish Independent Park in Cork, also received funding.

There is another very worthwhile development at Oranmore-Maree GAA club, which is embarking on an ambitious €4 million project. It recently won the all-Ireland intermediate club hurling championship. I compliment the chairman, Mr. Gerry Rabbitte, and the manager, the great Gerry McInerney, on their success.

Hear, hear.

The club proposing to construct a sports centre of excellence in Renvyle and expand existing facilities on a 34-acre site that will include four new playing pitches and a covered terrace, in addition to attractions such as a public playground and looped walkway.

These are two projects of major importance to the west. Will the Taoiseach commit to allocating Connacht Rugby the €20 million it needs and Oranmore-Maree the €2.4 million it needs from the sports capital fund?

Will the Taoiseach catch those balls?

It is the Dublin Deputies who were heckling.

Heckling in support.

I assure the Deputy and the House that the Government is investing public money in infrastructure throughout the State, in every county, province and city. As one travels the country, everywhere can be seen new schools, new school buildings and extensions. They are being built in every county. The sports capital programme is specifically designed so that every county gets a fair share of the funding. It was not always like that but it has been for the past seven or eight years. The rural fund goes entirely to rural areas, and the vast majority of the urban fund has gone to urban areas other than the capital. On airports, for example, there will be an announcement in the coming days. Funding for airports does not ever go to Dublin or Cork. It only goes to the smaller airports. With regard to transport, and I know the Deputy does not like me saying it, but it is true, the single biggest-----

Like a broken record.

The biggest single investment in transport in Ireland in recent years was the Gort-Tuam motorway. It cost more than the Luas cross-city and Newlands Cross projects combined. That happened in the west. The largest investments occurring at the moment are the N4 to Sligo in the north west, and major projects in Cork due to start before the end of the year, examples being at Dunkettle and Ballyvourney-Macroom. There is a very fair spread of investment around the country.

I agree with the Deputy on one point. There has been underinvestment in sports infrastructure in Connacht, including Galway. The kind of investment we have seen in Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and which we saw at Thomond Park, Limerick, and Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, has not happened in Galway or the west. Funding for major sports infrastructure in the west, including Galway, is long overdue. I acknowledge the Deputy has a real interest in this issue, as do the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, Deputy Naughton and others. I had the pleasure to visit Connacht Rugby a couple of weeks ago.

Before the local elections.

The Deputy did too.

Having done so, I can see that what has been planned is very ambitious. It is much more than a stadium project. It is also about meeting facilities and conference facilities that will be of benefit to Galway. There ought to be performance spaces. It is a really exciting and good project. It is much bigger than a sports project. What I cannot do, unfortunately, is give the Deputy a commitment on that right here and now but there is €100 million set aside in the major infrastructure sports fund. The applications are in. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, and the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, will make the allocations before the end of the year.

That fills us with confidence.

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. This is going to be a political decision. All the applications are being assessed by the large-scale sports infrastructure fund team in Killarney, but there ought to be political intervention to make sure there is regional balance and that the west gets the State aid it deserves. The stadium proposed to be built in Galway has gone through the planning process. It is not going to go ahead unless €20 million is received from the Government. If more money is needed, will the Government commit to allocating more to the fund to ensure there is regional balance and that it is not just a matter of Dublin? There are two applications in from the west. One is from Connacht Rugby and the other is from Oranmore-Maree GAA club. I ask that the Taoiseach ensure proper funding is put in place to ensure the two much-needed projects get the funding they deserve.

Deputy Grealish makes a very strong case on behalf of Connacht Rugby. We will see what happens later in the year when the allocations are made. There is €100 million for the country.

This is one of the major projects that is competing for funding.

I am sorry to say that there will not be an increase to the €100 million fund. I expected to be called on today to defend the Government from criticisms that have been made of it by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC. The Government increased spending last year by 6% when the council suggested spending should have increased by 5% or less. We need to take that criticism on board, think about it and respond to it. However, what we see in the House today is part of the problem. Fianna Fáil is demanding more money for pay and pensions for the Defence Forces and it is not the case that Fianna Fáil has particular regard for the Defence Forces because it will be asking the same things for another group next week.