Vol. 541 No. 3
57 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the progress which has been made regarding his commitment to the appointment of a sports development councillor in every county by the end of 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22334/01]
I presume the Deputy is referring to the commitment by Government and the social partners in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to the creation of local partnerships. The Irish Sports Council has set out a pathway in its Statement of Strategy 2000-2002 which will be followed in the creation of such partnerships as a means of creating sustainable sports development infrastructure at local level.
The council is currently piloting the concept amongst the eight selected local partnerships which were announced on 2 May last. These are located in Clare, Donegal, Fingal, Kildare, Laois, Roscommon, Sligo and Tipperary North and were selected, after open competition, to pilot local sports partnerships. Four other areas – Cork, Limerick, Meath and Waterford – are currently involved in an extensive development process with a view to joining the pilot programme in 2002. It is intended to have completed an evaluation of the pilot by mid-2003 and the proven effectiveness of the concept will determine the extending of the scheme to other areas from end 2003.
Question No. 58 answered with Question No. 8.
Question No. 59 answered with Question No. 25.
Question No. 60 answered with Question No. 11.
