Vol. 513 No. 5
11 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has received an application for financial assistance from the FAI arising from the association's heavy losses as a result of the cancellation of the scheduled Ireland versus Yugoslavia Euro 2000 match in June 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2747/00]
23 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has received a copy of the Football Association of Ireland submission entitled Improving the Quality of Life and Social Inclusion through the Development of Soccer; his response, if any, to the submission; the funding, if any, he will provide to assist with the implementation of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2748/00]
30 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the plans, if any, he has to allocate funding to the Football Association of Ireland for a £12 million national coaching plan focused on disadvantaged areas as sought in a pre-budget submission; and his views on the submission [2757/00]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 11, 23 and 30 together.
As I have already given the answer to a previous question regarding losses to the Football
Association of Ireland as a result of the cancellation of the match against Yugoslavia and other soccer matters, it would be unfair to waste the Deputies' time by reading it again. I will answer any further questions they might have.
Is it true that the losses incurred by the FAI arose from the Government decision, which I strongly supported, to refuse visas to the Yugoslavian team? Is it just that the loss is carried by the FAI when the loss arose from a Government decision?
The Deputy will recall that I went to Paderborn to deal with the matter but UEFA refused to postpone the match. The Government, with the support of the media, the public and the Opposition, agreed that the only course of action was to refuse visas to the Yugoslavs.
During the discussions with the FAI in the run up to the recent stadium announcement, we asked the FAI to come on board with us at the expense of its own stadium. I am on record as saying that in an ideal world I would prefer the FAI to be on board. The FAI replied that it preferred to go on with its own stadium but would discuss issues concerning it with the Taoiseach. I am available to discuss any issues which might arise for national sporting organisations and problems could be ironed out at such discussions.
Does the Minister agree that politics and sport should be kept apart? Everyone agreed with the Government decision to withdraw visas for the Yugoslavian team but it is wrong that the FAI should be penalised for a decision taken solely by the Government with the support of the Irish people. Why should a sporting organisation be penalised for a political decision?
I sympathise with the Deputy's remarks. I am leaving avenues open to discuss all these matters. I remind him that the FAI was satisfied that only a fine was imposed. The Irish soccer team was in danger of being expelled from Euro 2000 competition. The FAI did not feel that it should have to bear the brunt of the fine but it was happy that only a fine was imposed. We are open to discussions with the FAI on all aspects related to the organisation, the stadium and other matters. No doors have been closed.
Will the Minister put the money on the table?
Will the Minister meet the FAI specifically on this issue? I got the feeling that if there was to be an accommodation reached with the FAI on the fine, it was contingent on the FAI's position in relation to the national stadium.
I will not be accused of blackmail or bribery. I am prepared to meet the FAI on any issue. I met the FAI after the fine was imposed and the matter was not raised on that occasion. I met the FAI a week before the budget and it was not raised then either.
What plans does the Minister have to allocate funding to a national coaching plan in disadvantaged areas? We are only talking about £12 million when the national stadium will cost hundreds of millions of pounds. We must not lose sight of where sport begins. Disadvantaged areas are crying out for sporting and coaching facilities. What plans has the Minister to provide funding for disadvantaged areas for people who will never see the National Stadium and will never come to Dublin?
I hope everyone in that age group will be able to come to Dublin and not just see the National Stadium but be able to participate in it. That is the intention. I wish I was 16 again because I believe there is a great future for sport in this country.
On the question of the FAI's submission, I did not receive a submission or request from the FAI until 8 and 11 November, two or three weeks prior to the budget. I did not meet the FAI until one week before the budget. The submission sought 40 development coaches in that specific area and requested £1.94 million per year. This is a very good proposal which the Minister for Finance and I support. There was also the report of the Sports Council which had to be submitted in January. They have a proposal for development officers on a county basis also and this overlap could be considered during discussions with the FAI. The Sports Council and soccer personnel indicate we need development officers so let us set out proposals in relation to this issue which will alleviate overlapping.
Last week I received an inquiry from Cartron Estate in Sligo. There is no playing pitch in this area for the under 12s, under 14s and under 16s who will be prevented from playing competitive soccer as a result of this. This is intolerable given that there are millions of pounds waiting to be spent.
That is a separate question.
Applications must be submitted by 11 February.
We saw this before when 40 applications out of 100—
I must deal with the applications. As I already said, it depends on how organised local organisations are. They should have their community and private funding obtained and be ready to begin. The Deputy must remember that if I give a grant on a particular date and the project does not begin until approximately a year later, unfortunately the grant will be lost. Organ isations must be ready to begin because I do not want to pay back £8 million again next year.
(Dublin West): On the question of funding for areas of disadvantage, which means largely working class communities or their equivalent in rural areas, will the Minister agree that apart from specific projects which need a high level of organisation, there is a need for funding to back up and support the tremendously dedicated people who work with thousands of children in these areas, often without the most basic facilities? Will he also agree there is need for a specific programme to support the efforts of these people? The £280 million allocation is fine but it is not trickling down to people who are hard pressed in poorer areas. These children are often left without the resources they need.
Three areas of major disadvantage in Dublin have been identified. The young people's youth and facilities fund was set and last year £25 million was allocated to target these specific areas. It will take a number of years before this comes to fruition but some projects in these disadvantaged areas have been catered for.
On the £230 million, I regard this as a small drop in the ocean in relation to our sporting infrastructure. I would argue that this is one of the best means of helping socially disadvantaged people. It also plays a major part in people's health and so on. Some £40,000 million is being allocated to other areas of social inclusion such as health, education and the environment. On the question of a specific category for small clubs and volunteers, this was tried in the past and, unfortunately, they do not seem to be able to get the projects up and running. As a result of the policies pursued in the past, £36 million worth of commitments are outstanding. It is very easy for me to make commitments, the problem is to get groups and organisations to begin to build the bricks and mortar. I handed back £8 million last year. This has to be done through the local authorities but, unfortunately, organisations do not involve local authorities enough.
Does the Minister agree that soccer in particular has a very strong foothold in disadvantaged communities compared to many other sporting organisations – I am speaking as someone who comes from a Gaelic background – and that priority should be given to funding for development officers for soccer rather than other sporting bodies in these areas? Does he agree that there is more red tape involved in allocating the sports capital grant, the closing date for which is two weeks' time, this year than in the past and that this discriminates against the more disadvantaged communities which may not have the resources to provide consultants to develop projects?
I am trying to cut down on the red tape factor but I also want to get the abstract plans off the secretary's and Deputy's desks and out of my offices and put them into the three dimensional bricks and mortar, so to speak. I am not necessarily blaming clubs, I am blaming the pace of the economic success of this country. That is basically the problem where builders and developers are now more interested in building big housing estates.
Communities are disadvantaged because the money is withdrawn.
Yes, because builders are not appearing on the sites. Such commitments have been made in the past. I did not want to introduce a sunset clause. However, I had to do something where if one club failed to develop a project, a neighbouring club in the Deputy's county might be able to avail of the opportunity. In other words, I wanted to spend the money rather than having to hand it back. There is no easy solution to this. A great deal more care must be taken with applications than was the case in the past if these facilities are to be built. We have been accused of not providing sporting facilities but there is £36 million now waiting to be spent.
The Minister indicated earlier that he was impressed by the FAI submission to improve the quality of life and social inclusion. I understood that if he received the submission earlier, he would have been in a better position to respond positively. Can I take that as an indication that he is positive towards the submission and that it will receive favourable consideration during the year in the context of the next budget?
Yes, it is a budget submission, which I supported. I did not have a chance to discuss it until one week prior to the budget. It is a very good proposal. The Sports Council furnished its report which had to be published after six months. The report indicated that they wanted to appoint a development officer in each county. I am not sure whether a specific soccer development officer would be needed or whether one development officer could train more sportsmen. With hindsight, there was an overlap but the proposal was very good. There are 4,400 soccer clubs in the country which must be supported. Last year they submitted 12% of the total applications for national lottery funding and received 17%.
Given that £36 million is unclaimed, will the Minister appoint someone to go into the regions and explain a simplified system to draw down funds?
Officials of my Department go into every region. This is announced on local radio and in the newspapers. These people were in Connacht, Donegal and other areas. The Deputy can ring my office to find out when they will be in his region.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
