Sports Strategy: Statements.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Allen)

I would like to thank the Cathaoirleach and the Members of Seanad Éireann for providing me with this opportunity to discuss Irish sport and to share our views and opinions on this area which is central to the lives of the people in Ireland.

The development of Irish sport has now reached a critical and exciting juncture as we review and critically analyse progress to date and put in place our plans and vision for the future.

Modern sport is facing many challenges and is experiencing radical and fundamental changes. Sport came into the ownership of the ordinary person about 100 years ago and, indeed, most of our sports organisations, structures, rules and regulations were introduced and codified around that time. In general terms, sport has continued to expand and flourish in a relatively stable environment over that period, but in the last few years it has experienced what can only be called a revolution.

Many of the old traditions and practices have been questioned and overturned. New pressures and demands have had to be faced from within sport itself. Major external forces such as the influx of money and the demands of international media have resulted in sport having to cope with an entirely new environment of professionalism and commercial realities. All this means that sport and its organisations and structures must be strengthened, organised and co-ordinated so that it can effectively operate in this rapidly changing environment.

The needs of the high performers, the demands of the international media, the expectations of the public, the urgent requirement to retain the core principles of ethics and fair play in the face of such pressure and the essential role of the volunteer in sport must all be addressed and balanced in our present day sports provision.

Sport needs its heroes and its champions. Young people and children, in particular, need the role models and the stats who will inspire and encourage them to succeed in their chosen sports. Our top elite athletes, individuals and teams must be given every opportunity to develop and to achieve at the highest levels of national and international sport. The ordinary person who just wants to take part in sport for fun, for recreation or for socialisation must also be provided with the means of taking part and of achieving a level of participation or achievement appropriate to his or her wishes and abilities. The increased participation in sport and physical recreation of all our people, young and old, must remain at the very core of our interventions and inspire our policies.

Sport plays many roles in our society. Success at national and international competition excites the interest of our communities and our nation; thankfully, we have had many examples of that in recent years. Success raises morale, enhances national prestige and provides great entertainment and enjoyment. Regular participation in sport provides personal enrichment and rewarding social experiences as well as the benefits for the mental and physical well being of the individual and the nation. It provides an identity and a sense of unity of common purposes for our towns, villages and communities in every part of the country.

Sport can play a unique role in combating drug abuse and crime by providing young people with interesting and challenging opportunities and counteracting the problems of isolation and social exclusion. I am convinced that sport, recreation and youth services are the greatest preventative element in the fight against crime and drugs for young people. Resources invested in sport is money well spent and prevents the need for even greater investment in prisons, prison officers and gardaí, as well as health services, but most importantly it reduces the level of human misery and heartache.

Sport also plays a key role in our economy. My Department published the results of a study, "The Economic Impact of Sport in Ireland", some years ago. This report highlighted the major contribution which sport plays in the economic life of our country in terms of investment, employment, goods and services, as well as income from tourists coming to Ireland for sport and recreation.

Employment in sports activity is in excess of 11,000 both full-time and part-time personnel, representing more than 8,000 full-time jobs. When the media, travel and tourism in sport are added, this figure increases to an estimated 18,200 full-time equivalent jobs. Sport and its related activities account for around £560 million or more than 2 per cent of GDP.

When all these factors are taken into account, when the demands and complexities of modern sport are appreciated and when one realises the range of benefits which participation in sport brings to our community, it is clear that sport requires to be taken on board as a serious and essential area of national provision.

Sport development can no longer be left to drift along in a loose, unco-ordinated fashion. It is too important and too complex for that. On becoming Minister with responsibility for sport and youth services, I was struck by the fact that there was no clear or coherent plan for the development of Irish sport. While a great amount of excellent work was being done and the funding of sports organisations and the provision of facilities had significantly advanced over the last couple of decades, it was clear that a national strategy for the future was long overdue. Therefore, over 12 months ago I appointed Olympic medallist, John Treacy, to chair a sports strategy group which set about the preparation of a national sports plan which would help map the road ahead for the next ten years or so. The reason I did so was the fragmented and disjointed approach to sport. I wanted a new plan to ensure that funding for sport was used to its optimum value; that attractive opportunities would exist for participation in sport and so that avenues were open for sports people to develop their talents to full potential.

As Members know, after 12 months of dedicated work, this first ever national strategy for Irish sport was published on 18 February 1997. The strategy group carried out the most detailed and fundamental review of every aspect of the funding, organisation, administration and requirements of Irish sport. This is a strategy that was not written by a few people in an office. An unprecedented level and range of consultation was carried out during the 12 months or so of its preparation.

The national sports organisations were consulted, as were Departments, state agencies, vocational education committees, local authorities and clubs, groups and individuals at local level. Over 300 written submissions were received and political parties were also consulted. In the truest sense, this strategy has been written by the partners in sport and by the people. It is not the John Treacy plan or the Allen plan as it has been described since its launch by one sports leader. It is the people's plan.

The strategy report, Targeting Sporting Change in Ireland is a very detailed and comprehensive document addressing all aspects of sport from local level and the needs of the individual to national and international structures, as well as the requirements of the top international competitor.

However, I wish to indicate the six main strategies which make up the overall report—sport for young people, recreational sport, high performance sport, sports facilities and natural resources, sports training and development and co-ordination of sport. The following principles guided the development of the strategy: people-centred focus, equality, partnership, quality, accountability, volunterism and sustainability.

In the course of the wide consultation one message came across loud and clear in every part of the country. This was the need to address the low levels of participation of children and young people in sport. Concern was expressed about the inadequacies of school sport and physical education in our schools.

The need to increase the number of people taking part in recreational sport and physical recreation—sport for all—was also raised as a priority issue. It is essential that we provide everyone with the opportunity to take part in and enjoy recreational sport supported by trained and well informed personnel, both volunteer and professional.

Ireland has a long tradition in high performance sport at international and national levels. Our national games have played a very special, strategic, leading role in our community. The strategy has identified the need to strengthen the work and the organisation of the NGBs, the range and quality of coaching and facilities and the early identification and ongoing support of our outstanding sports people.

There has been great progress in the provision of all types of sports facilities in recent years. However, in too many cases facilities are being provided in an unco-ordinated way and are funded on the basis of expressed demand rather than a rational plan. This has led to over-provision and duplication in some areas and under-provisions in others. The strategy proposes ways to provide quality sports facilities in the right place at the right time. These facilities should be well managed, accessible and widely used and should be sustainable to both the user and the provider.

The sports co-ordination strategy is the vital link which brings all six strategies together in one co-ordinated plan. This is to ensure that all our agencies, organisations, Departments, local communities and clubs as well as the private sector can work together in a cohesive way to provide opportunities for all, including people with disabilities and those living in areas of economic and social disadvantage, to participate fully in sport. To help bring all of this together, it is proposed to strengthen the role and impact of the Irish Sports Council to enable it to co-ordinate the potential which exists within sport and to provide a leadership role as well as a clear voice for Irish sport. The Government has given its approval to my Department to prepare legislation to establish the Sports Council on a statutory basis. My Department is now in the course of preparing a memorandum for Government with the outline heads of a Bill.

The strategy report has outlined a number of measures to be put in place to get the implementation of the six strategies I outlined under way. As I said at the launch of the plan, plans are made to be implemented not to be left to languish on a shelf. I have announced a 12 point implementation programme. I announced the appointment of John Treacy as Executive Chairman of the Irish Sports Council. John, with the council and the sport section of my Department, will set up the structures and programmes for the implementation of the strategy.

I accept in principle the need for a statutory sports council on the lines recommended by the strategy group and I am putting in place the necessary arrangements for the drafting of legislation to appoint the council on a statutory basis. The existing Sports Council represents a broad range of sports, key NGBs and other related areas. This council will play a central, pivotal role in the development of policy and in the implementation of the strategy, as well as providing a voice and leadership for Irish sport. It will direct the development of a cohesive partnership with the Irish sport sector, Departments and agencies, national and international organisations and the private sector.

As the House will be aware, the Sports Council was set up in June 1996. It succeeded Cospóir, although it was a smaller group and it was representative of all of the main interests in Irish sport. The common link between the strategy group and the Sports Council was John Treacy, the chairman of the strategy group. I was anxious to signal my commitment to implementing the plan by appointing him chairman of the Sports Council.

A women in sport group will be set up immediately to report on and address the key issues impacting on Irish women and their involvement in sport. I am concerned at the high level of falloff in the participation of women in sport from the age of 16 onwards. This was highlighted in a study carried out by the Department. There are impediments to the participation of women in sport beyond that age at participatory, management and administrative levels. These issues were highlighted at a conference held in Brighton about two years ago and by a number of women's groups which I have met.

There are 35 sports organised on an all island basis and there is a need for an all island approach to the promotion and development of sport. A number of programmes are already being put in place in the area of recreational sport and children's sport. There is a need for closer co-operation in the areas of high performance sport and in facility provision.

I announced in February that a representatives of the Sports Council for Northern Ireland would be appointed to the Irish Sports Council to ensure an effective level of co-ordination at the highest level of policy development. I am informed that the Sports Council for Northern Ireland selected its representative at its meeting yesterday. There is a need for an all island planning group to co-ordinate and develop sports policy. This has been happening for over 12 months because the Sports Council for Northern Ireland had a representative on our strategy group and we have a representative on its equivalent. There is and will be further co-ordination.

I will announce the introduction of an anti-drugs in sport programme, which will include a testing and an education programme in co-operation with the Sports Council for Northern Ireland which has expertise and experience in this regard. It is important that we avail of its expertise and experience. I will also establish a group to report on and address the key issues affecting the participation in sport of people with a disability.

As part of a range of new initiatives in high performance sport a player/athlete carding system will be introduced which will provide access to funding, training facilities, sport sciences, medical back-up, physiological testing, coaching and career guidance and development. It is disturbing that many top athletes who have represented Ireland at Olympic Games and other competitions find themselves without a career at the end of their playing days. Career guidance for our budding athletes is essential. A holistic package of support services will be available for the first time for our top athletes. The role of the National Coaching and Training Centre in Limerick will be enhanced to enable it to develop this and other services in consultation with the national governing bodies of sport. Greater resources are being allocated for this enhanced role. There will be increased funding for outstanding and elite sports people this year.

Special attention will be paid to strengthening the role and effectiveness of the national governing bodies. Strategic planning services will be provided for them so that they can develop effective plans and initiatives for the future development of their sports in co-operation with my Department, the Sports Council and the National Coaching and Training Centre.

My Department, the Sports Council and the National Coaching and Training Centre will work hand in hand with the national governing bodies in the development of their outstanding and elite squads as well as their coaching, competition and training needs. The special role and needs of players involved in team sports, including our national games, will also be given special attention.

Up to now our sports facilities have been developed on the basis of expressed demand. This lack of a co-ordinated approach has resulted in some areas of the country being under-provided in terms of facilities, other areas being over-supplied and duplication in many places. The role of ILAM—the Institute for Leisure Amenity Management (Ireland)—will be enhanced so that it can play a full part in preparing a national plan for the development, provision and management of sports facilities in consultation with the Sports Council and my Department. A national inventory of facilities will be carried out to identify the country's needs and requirements. With this information and plan we can ensure that we have the right facilities in the right place at the right time. The national governing bodies will be consulted closely at all stages so that their priorities and needs in the provision of training and competition facilities will be clearly identified. The startegy report has highlighted the need for training facilities for all sports as a priority matter. In this context I am investigating the need for a 50 meter training pool for Irish swimmers.

A technical support team will be appointed to implement the individual strategies in the areas of recreational sport and youth sport as well as training and development. Recreational sport is a priority; two recreational sport officers will develop and co-ordinate programmes to implement the strategy measures to increase participation in recreational sport and physical activity. These people will be appointed by public competition; it will not be, as some described it, "jobs for the boys".

The national survey, already published, on participation in sport and physical activity will provide a basis and a baseline for the measurement of the effectiveness of future interventions. Comprehensive programmes will be developed targeted at the different life stages. The recreational sport strategies will be implemented in partnership with local sports facilities.

In co-operation with the Sports Council for Northern Ireland, a number of cross-Border initiatives on recreational sport will commence shortly. Also in association with that body, an all island training programme geared at those organising or leading recreational sport will be put in place.

The importance of sport for young people was raised as a priority for attention by most of the groups and individuals consulted during the preparation of the strategy. Two national sports officers will be appointed, by public competition, to develop and co-ordinate special programmes and initiatives. A consultative forum will be established involving all key agencies to address issues of sport for young people involving the home, school and community. There is an important role here for the national governing bodies and their clubs at local level.

A special qualification for coaching young people in sport will be developed and three age-specific sports programmes will be developed with the key agencies. With that, a promotional and educational programme campaign will be introduced to inform the community and clubs on the principles of the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children's Sport in Ireland, published last year. Local sports development officers will be appointed on a pilot basis at local level in specific disadvantaged areas to promote sport for young people and develop sport as a catalyst for social inclusion, crime prevention and job creation. A sports training and development officer will be appointed to develop a comprehensive training and development plan for volunteers in Irish sport to include the development of a qualifications system, because without such a system there is no evaluation.

As an indication of the importance the Government has placed on the need to develop Irish sport, it has provided £1.6 million in this year's budget to enable work to commence on the implementation of the strategy. This funding will enable me to put in place the structures and systems necessary so that the key elements of the strategy can be put into effect without delay. The provision of this £1.6 million, in addition to the money already allocated in the Estimates, is a clear and positive sign of the Government's commitment to sport and to all those organisations, clubs and individuals at all levels who contribute so much to our country and to our social and community development.

In conclusion, the national sports plan provides a new deal for Irish sport. It provides a place in the decision making process for everyone involved in sports policy and development in Ireland. It is based on consultation and on sharing and this spirit of openness and transparency which typified its preparation will also characterise its implementation.

The plan has been widely welcomed by sports federations and clubs and there has been an unprecedented demand for copies. Sports organisations and clubs realise that working with the structures outlined in the plan will enhance sport in Ireland. There have been critics, but they are in a minority. Nevertheless, if the administration of sport does not change, it will be changed by external forces. Change is always painful for some, but we need everybody on board, working together in an effective and cohesive way so that all resources are optimised and athlete support and governing bodies are strengthened. Unless everything is right in the administration of sport and unless there is full co-ordination of resources, services and talents, we will not be at our best.

The sports strategy offers a unique and unprecedented opportunity for all interests to work in partnership and harmony, and in an open way, for the future development of our sport, our communities, our nation's health and well being and, most important, for the good of our young people and children. I look forward to the contributions of Senators and to sharing views and concerns on this most important facet of Irish life.

Mr. Lanigan

I am glad that the Minister of State has initiated this important debate on sports, sporting strategy and the future for sport. He suggested that we now have the first strategy report on Irish sport. However, in January 1987, Deputy Aylward, acting on behalf of Fianna Fáil, presented a strategy for sports and recreation. The two are intertwined and unless we provide facilities for both, no strategy will work.

The Minister of State is incorrect to suggest that it is only within the last 12 months that sporting strategies have been analysed. In doing so, he denigrates many people who over the years have attempted to evolve strategies which would give cognisance to all the elements in sport, recreation and leisure in Ireland. A number of civil servants who have worked in his Department in the past are knowledgeable of the problems and the potential in all areas of sporting life in Ireland.

The Minister of State spoke about bringing sport back to ordinary people. Page 22 of the document entitled Targeting Sporting Change in Ireland shows the Minister of the State at the top of the targeting structure, followed by the All Ireland Planning Forum, the Irish Sports Council sports section and, at the bottom, the schools, vocational education committee and co-ordinators. I hope this pyramid is intended to start at the bottom and work to the top because a problem with Irish sport over the years has been too much concentration on the top. Unfortunately, clubs, coaches, athletes and volunteers are marginalised on the same page. I also hope that when the report is implemented there will be many changes to the way the targeting area is organised.

In his speech the Minister of State said:

Modern sport is facing many challenges and is experiencing radical and fundamental changes. Sport came into the ownership of the ordinary person about a hundred years ago...

What does he mean by this latter remark? With regard to the GAA, the game of hurling originated from a limited number of people. In the 18th century a match took place beside Brompton Abbey on Brompton Road in London for £1,000 per man and they competed for the hand of a lady. In north Kilkenny a match took place between an earl from Kildorrery and an earl from south Kilkenny. It was a combined fair and hurling match and was attended by 55,000 people. The earls' huntsmen used whips to keep the peasants off the field of play. The fee was £1,000 per man and they hurled for the hand of a lady. Hurling came into the ownership of the ordinary person about 100 hundred years ago, but it is the only sport of which I know where that happened.

Modern sport has not changed very much. Much of what happens in people's lives is determined by what happens before they are four years of age. When one looks at children between the ages of nought and four years one can see the potential leaders and followers developing from that very young age.

The traditions and practices of sport have not changed very much. What has changed is the organisation of professional sport, which is at the root of many of the arguments in Ireland and internationally about the role of sport in society. International professional sport is detrimental to the aims of the Minister of State and everybody else.

I competed in the Cork city sports in 1958. According to the Cork Examiner, 29,000 people attended those sports at the Mardyke. The total sum of the admission fees paid by those people would not pay the fee demanded by one élite athlete to compete in Cork today. The demands of élite athletes are one of the reasons for the decrease in the number of sports meetings.

This report is pandering to the needs of élite athletes by the provision of a carding system which will give them access to more formalised funding. One helps people who are struggling to get involved in business by giving them an education and a little help—one does not continue to help them once they have achieved their aims in business. Similarly, I do not think one should continue to help those who have achieved their aims in sport.

The Olympic Games are becoming a farce and a major opportunity for advertisers. They no longer have anything to do with sport but instead are about advertising and the prestige of countries. That has not just developed in the immediate past but began when Hitler decided that the great white race was going to take over the Olympic Games. Thankfully, Jesse Owens made certain that Hitler did not get the results he wanted.

Athletes who earn millions of pounds per year now decide whether to go the Olympic Games on the basis of which tournaments are taking place on the international circuit at that time. It is time for the Olympic Games to be down-sized and to return to what they were intended to be—a sport for all in which participation was more important than the winning of a medal. The president of the International Olympic Committee is the greatest dictator in the world. He has more power and money at his disposal than possibly 90 per cent of countries. The International Olympic Committee has nothing to do with sport.

International athletes are very selective about where they compete. They would prefer to win a grand prix, where they are competing for seven bars of gold or for an appearance fee, rather than compete in the Olympic Games. The world Championships, which take place every two years, are much more important than the Olympic Games to élite athletes because of the appearance fees and prize money. Fair dues to them, in a sense, because they have a short life in athletics and they must maximise their earnings.

The questions which we need to address in Ireland must be addressed from the bottom up. We must examine the situation in schools which has resulted from the huge demographic changes. The Minister referred to the area of women in sport. I could be called sexist for suggesting we must take that in all its contexts. One of the problems in the development of sport, recreation and society is that while a gender balance is being imposed on various boards there is no gender balance in the teaching profession. Over 80 per cent of primary and pre-primary teachers are women. They do a fantastic job and I am not criticising women's teaching abilities. However, there has been a decrease in the participation in sport of primary teachers, and what participation there is usually occurs in the area of individual rather than team sports.

Fianna Fáil has suggested that the percentage of PE teachers in schools is much too low and that PE teachers should not have to teach other subjects. We must examine the issue of employing PE teachers to teach PE and sports only, rather than just regarding PE as what used to be called Sokol drill. In the old days the Christian Brothers aped the Nazi youth movement in claiming that a fit body created a fit mind, which was a load of rubbish. Forcing people to shake banners all over the fields of Ireland did nothing to create a sporting atmosphere, but it showed that the Christian Brothers and teachers had the pupils under control. Unfortunately, that turned many people off sport and recreation.

There is not enough consideration given in this report to the many voluntary bodies and the huge number of people who are involved in sport and recreation. There is too much emphasis on the organisation and funding of sport. If we do not have a huge input from voluntary people, sport at the élite level will decrease and the targeted area will disappear.

The most successful sporting organisation in Ireland is the GAA. Irrespective of what anybody might think about it, it is not based on a strategy which comes from the top. The GAA strategy has always come from the bottom and it has never been unwilling to change. Micheál Ó Hehir, who unfortunately died recently, conducted an interview in Belfast when the ban on participation in what were than called "foreign games" was lifted by a Waterford president, Pat Fanning. He was vehemently opposed to the lifting of the ban but, as a member of a democratic organisation, he went along with its wishes. He still has a feeling that it might have been the wrong decision but he accepted it. The GAA's style of democracy has to be looked for in other sporting and recreation organisations.

Fianna Fáil has suggested that each county should have a sports recreation co-ordinator. There is a suggestion in the Minister of State's strategy that that would happen. This is essential as local authorities are one of the bigger providers of sports facilities. Every time there is a major development they have an input because 10 per cent of land has to be set aside for leisure facilities. In the old days that land was the bog or the quarry on which a builder could not build. However, local authorities are now cognisant of the problems associated with building huge housing estates and providing leisure facilities.

The strategy also addressed the ways needed to develop a network of trained volunteers and professionals working harmoniously and successfully in all aspects of the sports sector, creating new jobs while building on the volunteer trateers at the base level of sport have done the ditions of Irish sport. One problem is that volunteers at the base level of sport have done the work and when success has been attained it is taken over by professionals, the Government or the media. If the Minister of State goes to his own hurling or rugby club, he will find dedicated people organising their respective clubs and they can organise seven teams to play at different times on a Saturday or a Sunday. If the Minister of State wants to provide training, he should pay them. However, once they are paid, he will run into major problems.

Rugby in Ireland has deteriorated in proportion to the amount spent in rugby clubs providing such leisure facilities as bars, dance halls, squash and handball courts, etc. Too much time and energy go into the organisation and provision of funds for the club while too little goes into the provision of playing facilities and the development of players. This also happens in other sports.

Athletics has been an area of contention for many years and it is unfortunate that the Olympic Games are the pinnacle for these people. The Olympic Council of Ireland was not a democratic body. Nobody knew who ran it until athletes were being selected for an Olympic Games. This has changed and it is more democratic today. Now sporting bodies have the right to name their representatives to the council and elections take place. In the past, one had to be asked to join the OCI. That was not democratic and it did not allow for the participation in the Olympic of minority sporting groups.

Our international successes have never come easy and never as a result of major organisation. In many cases success came about through the dedication of athletes and those looking after them. Dedicated parents were out with their sons and daughters in the cold and rain on winter afternoons and this dedication combined with local organisation produced these athletes. When Ronnie Delaney was in training for the Olympics, he was riding a bike in Kilkenny selling Hoovers. However, when he went to Melbourne he won the 1500 metres. He did not need a sports Minister to organise his career. Chalky White did not need a 50 metre pool. Michelle Smith has moved to Kilkenny and is training in the municipal pool from 5.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. every day. There is a need for a 50 metre pool in Kilkenny if she is going to live there as she would attract many people to the area.

Mr. Allen

The Senator is in deep water.

Mr. Lanigan

The Minister of State should reverse the wording on page 5 of the report to read "school, parent, vocational education committee co-ordinators" at the top and allow them to approach him. The allocation of money looks extremely well on paper. I hope Fianna Fáil will add to the Minister of State's list when it returns to Government.

Mr. Naughten

If.

Mr. Lanigan

I was a Member of the House when the national lottery was formed and I fought extremely hard to ensure sport got its fair share. The percentage of money allocated to sport by the national lottery does not meet its needs. Will the Minister of State or his successor ensure national lottery funds are provided for sport and recreation? This will not impinge on the health services because money will not have to be put into the drug abuse programme. If money is put into sport and recreation in the first place, the problems associated with drug abuse and various other anti-social problems will be eliminated.

Mr. Naughten

I wish to share my time with Senator Cotter.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mr. Naughten

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Allen, on this comprehensive document which is long overdue. Ireland has a long and proud sporting tradition which is deeply rooted in the richness of our culture. The national games have played a major role in the building of local community structures for sport and in fostering a sense of pride and spirit of rivalry on a parish, county and provincial basis. The national games and international sport provide great occasions for celebrating excellence and achievement and promote a sense of pride in being Irish. Successful Irish sports people provide excellent role models and sport creates a spirit of respectful co-operation among the people of this island.

Sport provides great satisfaction and enjoyment for Irish people of all ages and backgrounds. Sporting talent is an important part of the human potential of Ireland and everyone should have the opportunity to make the most of their talents. These benefits combine to form a potent and positive force in modern Ireland. The purpose of this strategic plan is to provide a clear blueprint for the development of Irish sport from 1997 to 2006. The strategy seeks to bring all elements of sport together in a cohesive way for the benefit of all those involved as participants, coaches, leaders and administrators.

The objectives of the report are to develop an active culture in sport, put an effective organisational structure in place and provide pathways and opportunities for individual fulfilment in recreational and high performance sports. These are worthwhile objectives and I particularly welcome the plan to encourage more young people and the public to take up sport. Much more must be done to promote and develop a life long interest in sport among young people because their future health and well being is critically linked to a positive sporting culture.

Resources must be invested in promoting healthy lifestyles and education and training for parents, teachers, coaches and sports leaders. Future developments in sport for young people should be planned in the context of the home, the school and the community at large. The introduction of a new physical education curriculum at primary level and a revised syllabus at second level should be welcomed in addition to the possibility of physical education as a leaving certificate option. Consideration should be given to the provision of this option for leaving certificate students as sport badly loses out to academic subjects at this level of education at present. From this point on young people lose interest in participating in sport. The appointment of two sports officers with the objective of co-ordinating the implementation of the sport for young people programmes is essential if we are to succeed in encouraging young people to get involved in sport.

There is also a great social aspect to young people becoming involved in sport and sporting organisations. In urban areas it keeps youths off the streets and away from the social ills of drugs and crime. Sadly, this is also becoming a factor in rural areas and the problem is growing daily. The Department of Justice and the prison system can only do so much and our objective must be to stop these problems arising in the first place. The development of the sports strategy will go a long way in helping to overcome these problems in society.

Involving more young people in sport will have the knock on effect of increasing the demand for facilities for recreational sport. Young people becoming involved in sport will encourage their parents to become more active. As the younger generation get older, they will also require these facilities. However, if resources and facilities are not in place to enable individuals to take part in sport for social, health or recreational purposes, this will be a futile exercise. Sports facilities and the resources to run them must be freely available to the public to encourage them to try sport.

Run down swimming pools with no proper facilities will not encourage people to take up swimming no matter how many medals Michelle Smith wins. Whether there is a 50 metre pool in Dublin, Cork or Belfast, it will not encourage people in Ballaghaderreen, Granard and many other rural areas and towns to take up sport. High quality 25 metre pools in every town are required if we are to have more Michelle Smiths on the podium in Sydney in the year 2000. Therefore, we must provide quality sports facilities in the right place at the right time. They should be well managed, accessible, widely used and sustainable to both users and providers.

I am delighted that local authorities will have a role in developing strategic plans for sport and recreation. They will be encouraged to identify the sports facility requirements for their areas in partnership with the local sports groups. I welcome this initiative because nobody knows the sports requirements of a local area better than the people of the locality.

An area which has been neglected up to now has been the development of our natural resources. The development of national marked ways and local short walks in addition to an inventory which identifies major areas of national interest and rights of way for outdoor pursuits would be a great asset to the tourism industry. It would bring tourists to parts of the country which were not exploited in the past.

Sports related activity generates in excess of 11,000 full and part-time jobs, representing more than 8,000 full-time equivalent jobs. When sports spending on media, travel and tourism is included, it raises the figure to over 18,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Sport is estimated to contribute over £66 million annually to the Exchequer through PAYE and PRSI levies. Therefore, it is a vital cog in our economic development but it is under-utilised at present. The report will help to change that trend with proper funding in place. A bigger slice of the national lottery cake must be secured to ensure that sport reaches its full potential for the people and gives its full benefit to the economy, locally and nationally.

While I welcome the comprehensive document, the issue of pay to view television has not been considered. The Minister said that if administration of sport does not change, it will be changed by external forces. A prime example of that is BSkyB, which signed a contract with the Rugby Unions of the southern hemisphere. A consequence of that is the professional era in Rugby Union. BSkyB also dictates to sports bodies the times at which soccer matches take place in England. We can do as much promotion of sport and issue as many reports as we wish, but it is a futile exercise without live sports coverage on television. We saw the effect of Ireland's success in the soccer world cup in encouraging young people to take up the game. It is vital to the development of sport in Ireland that terrestrial television covers all major sporting events to ensure young people get involved in sport and sporting organisations.

I welcome the report and thank the Minister. Given the tremendous work he has done since his appointment, I am sure he will get the portfolio again after the election. The strategic plan suggests it will be a senior Ministry, which will give sport its rightful place at the Cabinet table.

Mr. Cotter

I thank Senator Naughten for sharing his time and I welcome the Minister. I congratulate him for doing something important. He has brought vision, energy and understanding to his portfolio and we saw the results in recent years. The report is his most important work to date and it is widely accepted as such. Given the activities of his Department, his vision is shared by his officials and that augurs well for the future.

Sport has evolved in an unco-ordinated fashion. Other speakers mentioned the voluntary and organisational input of various groups, such as the GAA and soccer and athletics organisations. Each has done its own thing and organised itself on a national basis. They have done a marvellous job in many cases and the GAA is the outstanding example of how a group can organise itself and provide facilities in every parish. However, other groups have had much more difficulty achieving that. For example, in parts of the country with which I am familiar, people involved in athletics have not managed to provide the type of facilities they require, although the community games have been in existence since the 1960s and athletics has been practised and supported in parishes throughout Ireland for generations.

Former great athletes, such as Felix Sherry, gave years of service to the development of athletics in parts of County Monaghan. I considered him a hero when I joined the community games organisation. He gave his time training athletes in the Truagh area of County Monaghan and did a marvellous job. He achieved some fantastic results but without any resources.

One of the GAA's faults is that it was somewhat narrow minded in the way it developed its resources, pitches, etc. That organisation rarely if ever considered the needs of the wider community, particularly those of athletics organisations. Thankfully, however, it is beginning to adopt a broader vision.

I hear a mobile telephone ringing, which must mean that Senator O'Toole is in the House.

Mr. Lanigan

It is not Senator O'Toole, it is his clone.

Mr. Cotter

It certainly looks like Senator O'Toole. GAA clubs rarely provided running tracks, which would have been a simple addendum to the development of football pitches. This happened in some areas but there was no co-ordinated national effort to provide running tracks in conjunction with playing facilities. That was an omission and probably occurred because of the small resources available at the time. However, it would have made a great impact on the development of athletics. I am glad that such development is beginning to take place. Local communities developing proposals for the provision of sports facilities have broadened their vision to an extraordinary degree and a single playing pitch can now be used for a variety of sporting activities.

Another problem which existed in the past was the lack of sports facilities in schools. I ran a school for a number of years which did not have a playing pitch or gymnasium and was dependent on the local community. It was often difficult to train sports teams because the local GAA club had only one pitch, and at times we were forbidden to use it while it was being prepared for the championship season. As a result, we could not train the Gaelic football and soccer teams before a crucial match. That problem remains in existence to some degree and I am glad it is recognised in the report.

There is a great need for communities to provide the facilities required within their defined areas such as centres for the development of sport, playing pitches and additional grounds and amenities. Will the Minister initiate research into the relationship between students' involvement in sport and their academic achievements? I know of no research in that area, but from my experience in education I could surmise the results of such research. In my opinion, which is supported by information I gathered in the past, people involved in sport tend to be highly motivated in general and become academically successful. However, I also discovered that parents tend to withdraw when their children become very involved in sport. They ask whether too much time is being spent on sport and not enough on academic interests. There is a conflict in this area.

Teachers are also wont to worry in the run-up to examinations. They tend to become concerned about the involvement of certain students in sport who may be obliged to miss a lesson in order to represent the school in an important match. I believe if this issue were researched it would emerge that there is a correlation between involvement in sport and general motivation in other areas. Sport has a general motivating effect on one's attitude to education, etc. While working as a teacher I noticed that students who would normally have dropped out of school became motivated by their fellows in an unusual way when they became involved in playing on or supporting a football team. I know some students who, where it not for sport, might otherwise have dropped out of school but they remained to complete the leaving certificate and went on to lead satisfying lives.

I welcome the commitment, vision and understanding which the Minister of State has brought to the area of sport. However, I ask him to fight a battle for funding because the economy is growing at an enormous rate. When times were bad national lottery funding had to be used by many Departments for different reasons. I recognise that the economy is now growing at an unprecedented level and it is somewhat facetious to call on the Minister of State to fight the battle for funding because he is already doing so. However, the House should support him in this regard and recognise the importance of sport in keeping people out of prison, encouraging them to remain in school and improving the general quality of their lives.

We must also recognise the grave need for continued and increased investment in sports facilities throughout the country. Although the Minister of State recently invested relatively large amounts of money, he, his officials and everyone else is aware that this funding represents a mere drop in the ocean in terms of nationwide requirements. I hope that the Cabinet and the decision-makers decide that youth in sport should receive increased funding as the economy, which provided such funding to other Departments in the past, grows.

I hope the Minister of State will continue in office for a long period because he is the first individual to bring the kind of vision, planning and understanding necessary to this brief. He has achieved something of great importance and it is only correct that he should receive the opportunity to proceed with and conclude his work in the interests of Irish sport. The people of Ireland recognise the Minister of State's achievements and he has vast support for his proposals. I wish him well in their implementation.

Mr. O'Toole

I propose to share time with either Senator Lee or Senator Norris.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

Is it agreed that Senator O'Toole will share time with Senator Norris?

Professor Lee

Senator Lee or Senator Norris. The latter may not attend.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

I apologise. Is it agreed that Senator O'Toole will share time with either of the Senators to whom he referred? Agreed.

Mr. O'Toole

I welcome the opportunity to speak about a matter that is crucial to Irish life and education and I congratulate the Minister of State on the quality of the report.

A vote of congratulations must be given to those who put forward the name of John Treacy of this job. Everyone who stayed up late one night in 1984 to watch him compete in the Olympic marathon is aware of his tenacity, determination and stamina. However, we also recognise his extraordinary ability to define and design goals, to which he attaches detailed planning and assessment of methods to achieve them, and his development of strategies. It is clear that Mr. Treacy imported his attitude to sport into the preparation of this document.

This is a good document and I would welcome its implementation. It has a number of flaws to which I will refer, but I do so only on the basis that naturally one tends to focus on things one would like to see changed. It is very progressive that the document recognises the Brighton declaration on women in sport. The document also recognises something which is not stated often enough, namely, whereas they can be treated equally in sport, women and men have different needs, particularly in terms of the education system. That is made clear in the document and I commend it to the Department of Education. It was unnecessary to describe Mr. John Treacy as chairman rather than chairperson or Cathaoirleach because it gives the wrong impression. I ask that it be changed because it does not fit well with the UN and Brighton Declarations in terms of creating role models. However, I do not want that small quibble to take away from the report.

I want to focus on the report's positive elements but I also want to raise certain crucial issues. We must have different arrangements for young women or girls and young men or boys. I ask the Minister to keep that in mind. We need people, such as the inspectorate in the Department of Education, teachers, etc., to produce positive results. It is also important to have discussions with the colleges of education because that is where it begins. We are talking about developing teaching skills and about teachers being prepared to introduce young people to sport. People who teach gymnastics, for example, must learn a skill. I would like primary teachers, colleges of education, the inspectorate in the Department of Education and an INTO representative to work together to set up a programme. The NCCA is setting up a programme, to which I am favourably disposed, but resources will be needed to implement it at school level.

Physical education cannot be introduced in primary schools without access to a general purpose room, a pitch or a hard area. I do not want to reduce this debate to one about the lack of resources at different levels of education. Nevertheless, it would be disingenuous and illogical not to refer to this issue. If pupils want to do physical education on a cold wet wintry Friday afternoon, they must have proper indoor facilities. Two-thirds of primary schools do not have a general purpose room and post-primary schools are only marginally better off.

I recall my first week teaching in Rolestown national school in Senator Wright's constituency. I was appalled to find there was no football team. I tried to get a football team together but there were no resources for jerseys or a football. If the local club, Fingal Ravens, had not heard of our predicament and given us a second hand set of jerseys and a couple of footballs, we would not have succeeded in forming a team to which there has been great commitment. It took a couple of year's commitment by myself and a number of other teachers to get people to move from Gaelic football, which is a man's game in north Dublin, to athletics. It is easier nowadays with role models such as Sonia O'Sullivan, John Treacy and many others. It is important not to suggest ways forward unless we are prepared to help people to make the change.

The overall goal of the report is to involve more young people in sport at all levels and to encourage them to develop a life long interest in it. Many young people will never find success in sport but they could learn how to move properly. An old phrase in Kerry and Cork was, "he has no use of his body", which means he cannot walk properly. There was a time when our grandmothers made us wear braces or walk with books on top of our heads to straighten our backs. This was an attempt to develop posture. It is important that sport relates to more than just enjoyment.

I am more interested in children becoming involved in sport than in how they perform. At one stage if people were not interested in physical contact sports, they had no other choice. However, people can now choose gymnastics and non-contact sports which are crucially important. Many children do not find success in academic subjects or in public speaking and they may be no good at football or hurling, but they may be extraordinarily skilled in basketball or athletics —such as the high jump, the long jump or the triple jump. I know from experience — there is no teacher who would not support me—that the child who finds success on the sports field will be transformed in the classroom. The person who was a bully last year will be looked up to as a role model and as an expert at the high jump or the long jump; he will respond differently and have different needs.

The philosophies underpinning discipline and bullying do not take account of the fact that success is crucial to a child's self-esteem and confidence. That is why sport is important in the school curriculum and playing games is only part of it. The game was always the fifth part of the lesson on physical activity. It was the time when the children put it into effect — chur i bhfeidhim mar a glaoamhar ar an uair sin.

I welcome the report although I have not read it in detail. I look forward to speaking to my colleagues in the education area. I would welcome an invitation to the INTO to become involved because we are committed to developing this area. It is important for people to come together to develop structures which will work.

Professor Lee

I thank Senator O'Toole for sharing his time. I agree with everything he said, which might be a cause of concern to him. I welcome the report which is a model in terms of the extensive consultations and the speed with which it was published. Given the amount of work which went into it, this is impressive. I hope it will enhance the profile of sport and the place of sports policy in this country.

Although we thought we knew a little about sport, we will learn a lot from this report about our current and future positions. The general principles underlying it are sound. I also welcome the gender proofing, even if the title of chairperson was not included. I am also struck by the emphasis on access to sport for people with disabilities. Independent of the pride we all took in the performance of our Special Olympics team, one of the most commendable features of this report is that it takes cognisance of the needs of people with disabilities. I agree with Senator Lanigan that there is too much of the top down tone about this, despite the consultation. There need not be any exclusivity between top down and bottom up, it is a matter of getting the balance right.

The GAA is the most extraordinary, voluntary, amateur sporting organisation in the world. It does not matter what one thinks of the politics of the organisation, it has been a sporting phenomenon. One would not want to lose the enthusiasm, energy and local ideals Senator Naughten spoke of which have been essential to the GAA's success. We should learn from this home grown success and not think that we must always look abroad for inspiration. Michael Cusack has come in for a lot of criticism in literature, however, one of his driving motives was to bring sport to the people. That was a subversive sentiment at that time.

I agree with the Minister that the ordinary person who just wants to take part in sport for fun or recreation must also be provided with the means for taking part. I also agree with him about the unique role that sport can play in combating drug abuse and crime and that resources invested are well spent.

The Minister has suggested a dozen priorities for the allocation of resources. These will not be achieved on the budget that is available. The Minister talked about the appointment of local sports development officers on a pilot basis at local level in specific disadvantaged areas to promote sport for young people and develop sport as a catalyst for social inclusion, crime prevention and job creation. He also stated that the Government allocated £1.6 million in the budget for these structures. There is no comparison between the ambition of the objective and the amount of money spent by the Government. How much will be allocated for sporting development in the area programmes which come under EU funding? The resources are not adequate for the job which needs to be done, given the centrality of emphasis on sport as a means of combating social deprivation. What scale is envisaged and how central is the sports dimension to the area programmes? I suspect this has not been adequately appreciated up to now.

At the elite sporting level it seems bizarre that we do no have a 50 metre swimming pool. The report states that we have 95 swimming pools. This is grossly inadequate for the size of the population. Swimming pools help to break down class barriers and ought to be a crucial part of an infrastructure for civilised recreation. No Government can say it is serious about a sports programme unless it announces an extensive, specific building programme.

Government intervention is necessary in deprived areas where there has to be a top down approach. One of the reasons these areas are deprived is that they do not have the energy, resources, ability or perspective at ground level. The GAA has had an intellectual input, conceptual capacity and financial resources partly due to the input of teachers. This is lacking in deprived areas. We should not get in the way of voluntary activity. However, we should focus resources on areas which do not have a similar, voluntary infrastructure.

Since we have great potential for developing recreation and sport, it is important to establish a hierarchical approach to priorities. The Minister's intentions are admirable but we do not have the resources to achieve them. Political decisions will have to be made in terms of deciding priorities.

The Minister stated that sports development can no longer be left to drift along in a loose, unco-ordinated fashion; it is too important and too complex for that. He said he was struck that there was no clear, coherent plan for the development of Irish sport. I agree with this. To my shame I was not aware of the work of the sport section of the Department of Education until he brought it to the public's attention. Raising the profile of this section is the first step to achieving the results one wishes.

Reading this section of the Minister's speech it appeared that it was a microcosm of national performance. There have been marvellous individual performances from wonderfully dedicated people. However, much more could be achieved if we had a strategy and framework and the drive that comes from consistency. I welcome the Minister's contribution and this report. I trust that we will go forward in the context of sustainable development.

Mr. Maloney

I welcome the Minister and his officials. They have been very helpful whenever I have looked for information about the lottery.

Parents and teachers have always been involved in organising sport for young people. We must congratulate teachers who have performed this task outside their normal working hours and without being paid. The Minister's plan finally recognises the role that is being played by parents and teachers.

Ireland is a sports mad country. I remember getting up early in 1956 to listen to the commentary on Ronnie Delaney running in the Olympics in Melbourne. I also remember coming to Dublin in 1959 to watch Johnny Giles play his first game for Ireland and score the winning goal against Sweden. That was the year after Brazil beat Sweden in the World Cup. I came to the Down v Offaly game in the 1960s. Those were fabulous times. I won a medal in the all Ireland Hospitals Final in Croke Park in 1967. One never forgets these events.

For 12 years I worked with children in Gaelic football and soccer. The role of volunteers is very important. I congratulate the Minister of State on these first steps. If this is to be called the Allen plan, the Minister of State deserves it because he is the first person to try to do something about this situation. There is much in the strategy I agree with. There are other areas in which improvements could be made, but the spirit of the report is right. It intends to advance matters for the good of everybody.

There are bad aspects of sport that need to be addressed. In last year's All-Ireland final one saw fighting among the teams. A lot of young people look up to someone like Paul Gascoigne and there was a big response to his beating his wife when drunk or in bad humour. These are horrible aspects of sport that cannot be ignored, although sport is ultimately for fun. My postman is Danny McDaid, who ran in two Olympics for Ireland. He had no athletics track in Letterkenny so he ran over the hills and fields. He is now heavily involved with the local athletics club on a voluntary basis, putting in many hours there. These are the people we must praise because they do a tremendous job and children look up to them. There was very little help or training for those people and the Minister of State has addressed that issue.

Success is uplifting in any county. I was working in a psychiatric hospital when Donegal won the All-Ireland final in 1992. There was a great feeling of euphoria for two moths after the game and the rate of admissions to the local psychiatric hospital dropped dramatically because every one was in good form. It was a major achievement and the feel good factor was unbelievable. Six weeks before the Ulster final, an old man was brought in with severe depression and we could do nothing with him. A young man from his town played a blinder in the Ulster final and won the man of the match award. After listening to the game, the old man was discharged the following day in fabulous form. That is what sport can do for people.

The report makes reference to drug abuse. The major abuse among schoolchildren and in sport is drinking. Drugs are not as great a problem here. Too much attention is given to the drinks companies and too much emphasis is placed on drinking. Unless we address that matter soon, it will introduce young people to hard drug abuse. Children are drinking from between 12 and 14 years of age and it is sometimes a culture in sports. If young people win a competition, one will find a number of them drinking behind a wall before the evening ends. That drink culture and the advertising of drink must be looked at. I congratulate the Derry City soccer club because recently they ran a campaign in support of the Northland centre for alcohol rehabilitation. They carried that insignia on their jerseys for two years and there was an unbelievable response to it. Unfortunately, they wore Smithwick's on their jerseys for two years after that.

Mr. Allen

Will the Senator be congratulating them after next Sunday?

Mr. Maloney

We will wait and see. Tourism is also mentioned in this document. Sport has a lot to offer in this area, especially golf. There are large numbers coming to the country to play golf and they bring their spouses. The Minister of State in his speech said that there are 8,000 full-time jobs involved in sport, with possibly 11,000 involved overall. When one considers the services that have to support the sports facilities the employment is probably more than that. A figure of £560 million has been mentioned, but with the Minister of State's approach that could be doubled in a two to three years.

I congratulate the national strategy group set up by the Minister of State because it has brought in the views of all sides on sport. While people may criticise the document, it is the first step to a co-ordinated approach to sport and I congratulate everybody involved in it. I will call it the Allen plan because the Minister of State deserves respect for what he has done. He goes out of his way to be present at sporting occasions and is very approachable if one seeks help or lottery funding for a facility.

When one mentions high performance athletes one thinks of Michelle Smith and Sonia O'Sullivan. I mention a girl about 15 miles from my town, Bridie Lynch of St. Johnston, who won the only gold medal Ireland took in this year's Special Olympics. The only facilities she can use are in Letterkenny, where the track is not great and she is to be seen doing much of her training on the roads. Despite that she won a gold medal. Sadly, her sight has failed but she is up with some of the best so-called normal athletes. She is to be congratulated and the Minister of State's plan is to help people like that. The disabled are getting very involved in sport, and those nurses and coaches who work with them are very interested in seeing better facilities provided for them. This plan is moving in that direction.

I also commend the community games, which is a 32-county organisation. For years they have done unbelievable work for community relations north and south of the Border. I am familiar with the Ulster situation, where finals can be held in Donegal one year, Cavan the next and Derry the year after that. Sport is good for cross-Border relations. Schoolboy soccer is very organised in the Donegal-Derry area. The Ulster League has participation from North and South, which is good for ongoing relations and should be commended.

The report mentions recreational sport, and this must be the first time we have looked at people who are not involved in sport. Those like myself who are considering retirement need to consider walking or some activity. There should be a planned approach to this, such as an area for people to jog or walk around. If people decide to take that opportunity they need to see there is support for them. If they decide to start walking at 50 they should be able to go and get a programme that suits them rather than having to do it themselves, perhaps having a heart attack. I commend the Minister of State on the inclusion of recreational sport.

With high-performance sport, one is again looking at the Olympic stars; but the people who have missed out should be considered. We have had tremendous athletes but we have lost out because of the lack of facilities and coaching, on which issues the report is very strong.

I also commend the Minister of State's antidrug strategy. However, the Minister should not take his eye off the ball in relation to the drink situation; it is of great importance when it comes to young people.

The plan should look at provincial and county situations as well as the national one. Every county is not going to have its own first class facility. That is not possible in a country as small as Ireland. In relation to my own home town, the Urban District Council in Letterkenny recently bought 37 acres of prime land with the intention of developing it as a sports facility. Perhaps the next time the Minister visits Letterkenny he could have a look at the land and take a message back to the sports strategy group to see what can be done to upgrade the existing facilities. We are competing with Northern Ireland, facilities across the Border in Derry are vastly superior to what we have in Donegal. We have a number of clubs in County Donegal, one of which is the Finn Valley athletic club. They went to Cork last Sunday——

Mr. Allen

I met them.

Mr. Maloney

Fair play to you. Clubs are invited to competitions in Europe, but because they have to raise funds on a voluntary basis they do not have the facilities or the financial assistance in Ireland to enable them to participate. They lose out because of that. ILAM are another group with which Roddy Gaynor is involved. Mr. Gaynor visited Letterkenny recently to view the sporting facilities which we have; he has offered to help us in relation to those. Perhaps with the assistance of Mr. Gaynor and the Minister, we can find a way to move forward.

Sports councils are also very important. It is important that each county would have its own sports council which would bring all the various sporting groups together and ascertain their views. If we adopt a planned approach we will not have a mish mash of developments going on in different places with separate groups wanting to have their own space. If the proper approach and facilities are available, people will travel to take advantage of them.

The Minister mentioned the training agencies in his report. One has to commend FÁS and the local soccer clubs in this country for the way in which they have co-ordinated the approach in relation to soccer; young players are brought on board for a year at a time and are coached by qualified coaches. The GAA in Donegal employed one coach a number of years ago; they now employ three because of the high level of interest from schools and young people in general. Young people want to pursue careers in soccer or Gaelic games and if qualified coaches were employed, they would receive proper training.

I think it is very important to keep volunteers involved in the area of sport. They have been important throughout the years and have received absolutely no financial reward for their work. I am not saying they should be paid, but I do think it is important that people who volunteer their services and have a good attitude to sport should be kept involved.

I welcome the Minister's plan. Sports co-ordination, through the linkage of various groups which the Minister spoke about, is the right way forward. I would like the Minister to look at the situation in relation to drink and advertising in the area of sport. I would like to see more attention being given to people with disabilities in relation to sport. I welcome the Minister's views on co-operation with Northern Ireland.

Sport gives tremendous satisfaction and enjoyment to people of all ages. It is a means of education and a means of discipline for young people at an early stage in life. I hope the Minister succeeds with his plan and I wish him success when he becomes a Minister with responsibility for sport solely.

Mr. Wright

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Minister's document in the House today. I also welcome the fact that my own party has also recently produced a discussion document in relation to the future of sport. All Governments to date have paid lip service to the area of sports funding. The Minister's document is tremendous in its aspirations. I do not intend any disrespect to the Minister but in a reply he gave to a recent Dáil question he said that in the last year about £15 million and 16 per cent of lottery surplus was the total figure provided for sports expenditure. The reason for the establishment of the national lottery in the first instance was the development of sport.

The Minister's suggestion and that of my own party that there should be a Minister for Sport is one I totally agree with. This would be compatible with the development of many other issues in our society. I believe that a sports ministry would be cost effective. We have already seen the kind of tourism development which happens through sport. Earlier today I listened to the chairman of Bord Fáilte talking about extending the tourist season. There is no better way to extend the season than through sport. In my own constituency an extraordinary number of hotels have been built in recent years because of the investment in golf by Bord Fáilte and other agencies. We are now reaping the benefits of that. There are many other facets of sport which could be developed in order to extend the tourist season. On an economic basis, the development of such an idea would be an absolute winner.

With regard to the area of health, I think the development of a proper sports policy in this area would also prove cost effective. I hope we have the opportunity to have the Minister back in the House again before the summer for a longer debate because I know many Members would like to expand on some of these issues.

Senator Maloney mentioned the relationship between sport and crime, drink and drugs. One cannot put a price on what volunteers are doing on the ground in every local community in a wide area of sports. They contribute to the quality of life we all enjoy in our towns and villages. The efforts of individual people, day in, day out in driving young children to and from matches, training them and so on has a tremendously beneficial effect. I welcome the Minister's efforts in relation to encouraging volunteer participation.

I would like to see tax breaks and tax incentives provided in this area. The Minister's scarce resources should be used to develop sports at a local level. At the higher level of sports achievement, I hope the Minister can come up with some tax incentives to develop better facilities. When one sees what has happened in the Temple Bar and Custom House Docks area with regard to the incentives provided for urban renewal, one wonders why similar incentives cannot be provided in the area of sports facilities. If the Minister offers the right incentive, he will find the right kind of investment. If not, we will still be here 20 years from now looking for a national stadium, a national swimming pool or some other facility. Over the period of three or four years, several parts of Dublin which were falling into disrepair have been rejuvenated because the right tax incentives were offered. Dublin, the capital of social activities, is now the envy of Europe.

Mr. Norris

Absolutely.

Mr. Wright

That has happened over a short period of time and I have no doubt that if the proper incentives were put in place we would have the national facilities we require.

I want to commend the Minister's efforts in relation to the development of minority sports. The idea of a "house of sport" is a fantastic one and should be developed. There are many kinds of minority sports and it is very difficult for people involved in these sports to get funding or sponsorship because they do not have a profile. My brother would kill me if I did not mention that the Minister is a cricket supporter and hopefully will continue to be. The Minister's efforts in relation to cross-Border co-operation in the area of sports are very praiseworthy.

I had the pleasure of training basketball teams for 16 years on a voluntary basis and of travelling throughout Europe and the world with them. It was embarrassing to see the facilities in other countries as compared with the very basic ones here. Perhaps the Minister in his summing up could give his own views as to whether he would be willing to encourage the Government and the Minister for Finance to allow investors into the area of sport. I supported one such proposal for which Fingal County Council has given permission. With private investment of up to £400 million and £25 million from the State we could provide several national centres, indoor arenas and a stadium.

Fianna Fáil discussion document, which I was involved in drafting and which I fully support, points out the ludicrous planning laws which allow for up to 3,000 houses to be built without any commitment to community facilities. In my constituency I have been involved in proposals for the development plan. More and more people object to 3,000 houses or 200 or 300 houses being built—as has happened in Dublin and Cork— without account being taken of the need for recreational facilities. Fifteen or 20 years later State services are dealing with all sorts of problems in these areas. The basic cry from public meetings, attended by 1,000 people or more, is for a small hall or somewhere to meet. Within the planning laws and the development plan reviews the Department should be encouraging a commitment by developers to provide basic community facilities for new developments.

While not wishing to criticise the Minister, it is unreasonable to suggest that what is outlined in the sports strategy and the Fianna Fáil discussion document can be achieved with the resources available to the Minister at present. It is not possible. I am aware of the level of applications received by the Department for national lottery funding, each as deserving as the other but, at the end of the day, there is a small cake to give out. No Government has given the type of resources needed to develop sport. I cannot understand how every Minister and Government talks in glowing terms about the value of sport but gives it a secondary status in budgetary considerations. The only way to secure the resources needed for the development of facilities and to ensure that our top athletes are provided for is by having a sports Minister in the Cabinet. This would emphasise the importance of sport in terms of economics, tourism, health and crime.

During the Olympic Games or world games the pressure is on the Minister to provide funding and facilities but resources are scarce. Schemes can be introduced to help the Michelle Smiths. Companies and individuals should invest in sports people as they do in property. The Department's scarce resources should be allocated to encouraging and developing participation at local level.

I wish the Minister well in achieving his aims and I hope we will have a chance to elaborate further on this matter. The contributions have been supportive of the Minister. I would like the Minister to bring forward plans for tax incentives and reform of the planning laws. There are certain parts of the city where there are between 3,000 and 5,000 houses accommodating 20,000 to 30,000 people with not even a hall to meet in never mind an area big enough to play a game of basketball. That is wrong and we can change it by introducing legislation and insisting that the Minister has a role in ensuring basic facilities are provided for the development of sport.

Mr. Norris

I thank Senator Wright for sharing time. I have a direct interest in this issue. I have participated in sport but when I was young such facilities were minute compared to today. I did the marathon three times in comparatively inglorious times but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe the classical maxim, mens sana in corpore sano. A balance between social, intellectual and physical prowess is necessary for the proper development of the individual and the State.

I have been involved with DISC—the Dublin International Sports Council — and it has not always seen eye to eye with the Minister. I am impressed that the most recent edition of its newsletter, Discuss, volume 1, No. 2, March 1997, gives a ringing endorsement to the Minister's plan. There are slight variations in what they would like to see. I am sure the Minister is aware of this and the excellent discussion document they produced. Some of the ideas may be far fetched, such as a Dublin Olympics, but it is useful to look at their detailed report. Even if holding the Olympics in Dublin is not in the immediate future, we should not exclude it completely. If we make a commitment to provide first class facilities we may attract major international events which would have an enormous impact.

The Minister indicated what this kind of impact is and few of us may have realised this. He said sport and related activities accounted for around £560 million or 2 per cent of GDP. This is a grey area as the actual amount is £225 million rising to £560 if all related areas such as tourism are taken into account. Two per cent of GDP is a very significant amount.

Some months ago I visited the Czech Republic. The Minister for Defence there told us they were committed to an increase of 0.5 per cent of GNP on military spending. This was regarded as an enormous amount of money. Therefore, although 2 per cent seems small, it is a very considerable sum and indicates how important sport is economically as well as culturally and health wise.

The Minister spoke of the need for an all-Ireland approach to the promotion of sport. That is very important. It is one way in which the divisions on the island can be healed. However, I see a practical difficulty. Does it mean that British lottery money will be allocated to all-Ireland projects south of the Border? If money was made available by the national lottery, would it have to be for projects south of the Border? Will there be any really flexible negotiations? It would be a wonderful, imaginative departure if this kind of co-operation could be achieved and it would prove a major force for sports facilities if funding from another jurisdiction were available. However, I am not sure this is practical or possible.

The national lottery was originally envisaged as a sports lottery. However, the terms are so wide that, as somebody said recently, the Minister could punt it all on the grand national without being impugned. There is nothing to stop him doing that, and that is a pity. We need dedicated resources for sport. They should be dedicated and clear. I speak as a beneficiary of the theft of lottery money from sport to cultural matters. Every group needs funding but it seems to me that money should go to sport from a lottery which was established for that purpose.

I notice the reference to a 50 metre training pool. Why not build a real, international swimming pool? The Minister knows perfectly well what I mean. I am talking about a matter I raised here, the interest in an international swimming hall of fame. When three gold medals were won at Atlanta, it is not enough to have a tentative proposal for a 50 metre paddling pool. We need the real thing and we will give the Minister every support in his battles to get approval for this type of facility.

I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Wright when he said that we need a Minister for Sport at Cabinet level. The Minister——

Acting Chairman (Mr. McDonagh)

I am sorry to interrupt the Senator in full flow but his time is up.

Mr. Norris

I am afraid in that case that I must be extinguished.

Mr. Dardis

I thank the Government side for facilitating my wish to speak on this matter.

I welcome this important report. John Treacy and his colleagues are to be congratulated not only on its content but on the fact that it was produced in just over a year. That is quite an achievement on their part.

I have made criticisms about the circulation of reports on the Order of Business and this is one of those to which I referred. It is important that we, as Members of the Seanad, receive copies of reports when they are published, that we actually see reports and know their contents when we ask for them to be debated. The report was circulated within the past few days but that could have been done earlier and that is a matter the Minister might think about in future.

The objectives of the report are very laudatory and nobody could take particular exception to them, but implementation will be the measure of its success. Previous reports have mouldered on shelves in Departments and not been acted on, so we look to the Minister and his successors, whoever they may be, to implement this report.

The question of funding is central. In that respect it is possible to look on the funding of sporting facilities as good investment apart altogether from its benefits to athletes or spectators. There is a capital benefit to the country and it is this: if moneys are invested in state of the art facilities, particularly of an international calibre, there is the capacity to generate extra tourism revenue and thereby pay for these facilities. There is a good case to be made for a joint approach by the sporting bodies, private enterprise and the Government to the funding of the capital costs of some of these facilities. The World Equestrian Games spring to mind as an example of where facilities at Punchestown, County Kildare, will be improved and there will be a huge influx of foreign revenue from tourism which can only be beneficial to the country. It is to the credit of the Minister and Nissan, the sponsor, that the project has been saved. It is a very valuable project and I am glad the event will take place.

Angling should be considered a sport. It has enormous tourism potential and capital costs are low provided the waters and the basic facilities are protected.

As to the matter of a 50 metre pool, I agree with Senator Norris who, said that there was much congratulatory talk in the Seanad when Michelle Smith won three gold medals and it was right to congratulate her but the international swimming hall of fame proposal must be resolved. The Minister in a reply to my Dáil colleagues on 14 November said that following receipt of the strategy group's report this year, he would be in a position to make recommendations to the Government on the question of the provision of a 50 metre pool. We look forward to an early decision on that matter. A training pool is not the right answer. If we have facilities of a proper international calibre, it will attract people to the country and that will be of economic and sporting benefit.

Reference was made to the national lottery and the way in which that funding is allocated and I would agree with some of the comments which were made in that regard. When one considers the number of leisure centres which are springing up all over the country, it is obvious that it is possible to build sporting and leisure facilities which operate at a profit. If it were not possible, private enterprise would not do it, so there is a message there for us. There is an obvious need for partnership between local authorities, Government and the private sector to develop the type of facilities required. Kildare County Council owns swimming pools but it does not seem to able to operate them at a profit. It is not a good idea to have 25 metre pools all over the country. They will not be used and they will operate at a loss. Everybody wants them until they are erected and then you find out how many people actually use them. There seems to be some lack of conjunction between the demand for swimming pools and the number of people using them.

On the question of facilities, I have been involved with the IRFU for 25 years. I have refereed rugby football to a senior level and I am fairly familiar with the way the IRFU hierarchy operates. Its great benefit of course is that it is an all-Ireland body and that has led to greater understanding and helped the peace process. However, I am worried about the degree to which the corporate sector is becoming dominant. I think I have missed three internationals since 1958. I started buying ten year tickets 20 years ago when it cost me £150 for a seat in the lower west stand at Lansdowne Road. I accept the reality that money must play a part in sport and we need it as a source of funding; but to renew that ticket for three years will now cost £1,250. There is something wrong with that. It is actually having an effect on the performance on the field. I have had corporate bankers sit beside me at important five nations' championship rugby internationals and talk business throughout the entire match. That is not satisfactory. I do not know what the Minister can do about it. The reality is that money talks and it buys the seats.

Mr. Wright

A 70,000 seat stadium.

Mr. Dardis

That is the point I am about to make. The report talks about a lack of co-ordination. Surely it should be possible to have a national stadium. Parc des Princes, which is to be closed, has been talked about and the national stadium in Cardiff — not Cardiff Arms Park — is to be turned around 90 degrees and a new stadium built. But there is a capacity in Ireland, between the IRFU, the FAI and, ideally, the GAA — because it is a summer sport and rugby is a winter sport — to build a national stadium of a calibre which will allow people to go to a game at reasonable cost. The lesson from Paris is that Parc des Princes is a municipal stadium and it is shared by soccer and rugby. It holds matches on a weekly basis. That is how those facilities can be made viable and the ordinary punter can have access to them. There are no corporate boxes at Parc des Princes and there never will be. I do not know about the new stadium which is being built near Charles de Gaulle Airport, but corporate boxes are springing up in the other stadia. That is a matter to which the authorities must attend; how do we get into those facilities young people who want to go and see their heroes play? All the seats at the front of the stands at Murrayfield were reserved for school children last Saturday. That is how children become involved in sport. They can look up to sports stars but they must not be corralled into one corner of Lansdowne Road.

Finally, there is the matter of the IOC and how the funding will be distributed. What happened at Atlanta, where Sonia O'Sullivan was seated with these people who were arguing about what happened and who did what, was an absolute disgrace. The Minister is familiar with the matter and he knows the story. It is indicative of several bodies where the internal politics of the organisation totally overwhelm their commitment to the sport, their delivery of service to the sport and what they should be doing for the sports people and the spectators. There is as much and may be more politics in sport as in these Houses.

Ms O'Sullivan

I welcome the document and the debate in the community at large on the question of sport. Given the limited time available I will concentrate on women's participation in sport. I welcome the highlighting of the issue of the involvement of women in sport in the document and its proposals in that regard, including a task force, research, the encouragement of the adoption of a code of equal opportunities for women and the development of programmes to ensure the greater involvement of women in all aspects of sport. We must ensure these proposals are not just aspirational.

Generally speaking, the sporting culture is not as strong among women as among men, although there have been superlative performances by women in swimming and athletics, in particular Sonia O'Sullivan, Catherina McKiernan and Michelle Smith. In many other sports, such as soccer and rugby, women are only now beginning to participate. The GAA does not have a very high level of participation by women but is probably better in this regard than the other two football codes.

The Minister of State must ensure that a good level of funding is applied to training, coaching and other facilities for women. For example, in soccer clubs that have a women's team, it has to wait until all the matches for the other teams, from senior to junior levels, have been scheduled before it can use the playing pitch. It is important that women get equal priority for coaching and facilities. This will not happen by accident, but only by design.

Women of my age did not generally have great opportunities to participate in sport and many of them are now taking up activities such as swimming, aerobics or hill walking and getting great enjoyment from them. It is very important that today's young girls have the opportunity to participate in sports.

I support the points made about building a 50 metre swimming pool. Every effort should be made to get funds for it. It does not have to be located in Dublin and I will support the bid by the National Coaching and Training Centre at the University of Limerick. I also support Senator Dardis's point about different sports sharing facilities so that the best possible facilities might be obtained at local and national level. The local sports fora that are proposed may be effective in this regard.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Allen)

I thank Senators for their contributions which I found informative. There was a wide consultation process in the production of the policy document but issues were raised in the debate which will give us food for thought. The document was described as aspirational but it is also functional. I am committed to implementing it and I think it can be implemented in total with existing resources and some additional funding which need not necessarily come from the public sector.

I thank the officials in the Department, who were very supportive of the idea of a root and branch examination of sport and related issues. I decided that a plan should be formulated because I realised that the resources available were not adequate to fund sport. Just as a businessman without a plan would not get money from a bank, a Minister without a plan would not get the resources needed to fund sport. The plan has been formulated and the structures are in place to implement it. An additional £1.6 million is available to fund the expertise and the structures needed for the implementation. The policy is functional.

There is a misapprehension that only a limited amount of funding is available for sport each year. The document indicates that there is approximately £150 million worth of Government spending on sport across a range of Departments. The Department of the Marine supports sailing and other marine activities, the Department of Defence supports equestrianism and the Department of Enterprise and Employment, through FÁS, puts a large amount of money into coaching and other sports-related activities. We had to quantify the resources available and decide on the optimum method to invest them.

I would not agree that the plan will operate from the top down. Page five of the document indicates that the goal of the policy is to develop a healthy broad base from which the system may grow. I am committed to investing in sport at community and club level. This will ensure that the best will rise to the top if they wish and, at the same time, tens of thousands will get enjoyment from sport at community and club level. If there is talent at that level we will have structures in place to support those who want to get to the top in sport. The plan is broad based and it deals with the elite sports people as well as young people in sport and sport in education.

Many Senators referred to the issue of exclusion. In response to Senator Lee, in particular, I would point out that through the urban initiative which deals with some areas in Cork and Dublin cities and some of the initiatives related to the task force on drugs, resources are being directed from areas other than sport and the Department of Education. With regard to tackling exclusion and drug abuse, resources are being drawn in from other areas. There is a realisation that the problem of drugs and crime among young people can be tackled in a preventative way rather than by building more prisons and employing more prison officers. We must employ initiatives to prevent the problems arising and investment in those initiatives would reduce the need for spending on other services. One guiding principle is the protection of volunteerism, because without those adults who drive young people to matches, 52 weeks a year, sport would collapse.

Sport has the potential to raise even more tourism revenue. Our tourism season is now extending to nine months of the year, mainly because of the development of our fishing, golfing and other leisure activities. I am sorry that because so many issues were raised, time only allows me to deal briefly with them.

I applaud what the GAA has done. It gave us back our national pride in its early days and has always reacted to the changing needs of Irish society. It is in the forefront of the development of coaching systems. From its own resources the association employs 80 development officers/coaches and invests £1 million per year in coaching structures alone. The GAA's work must be recognised, not just in terms of sport but in keeping our young people occupied. I also acknowledge the association's input into the development plan and it is represented on the council in the person of Mr. Mulvihill.

As to DISC and the 50 metre pool, the strategy group's terms of reference included investigating the need for coaching, training and development and the provision of facilities. I agree with its proposal that we should have a 50 metre training pool. When we have the resources and the luxury to develop a 50 metre competition pool, coupled with a hall of fame or museum as proposed by ISOF, I would be delighted to provide it and I hope someone will. In the context of the resources currently available, my priority is for the provision of facilities at community and club level and for the development of coaching and training. If we start from that principle, I believe all the other things will follow. That is why the Treacy group proposed a 50 metre training pool and I will investigate that proposal as quickly as possible. The suggestion that such a pool would be a paddling pool shows a lack of understanding.

Senator Naughten mentioned the challenge which pay television poses to sporting organisations, and although that is not part of the report I believe I should respond. It causes me concern that the international media can now seriously impact on sport. When a sport organises itself, it will be reactive rather than pro-active; one major organisation had international convulsions because of the impact of the international media. I raised this issue during our Presidency because I felt it had to be dealt with in a pan-European way, rather than by each country reacting on its own. Having said that, we have set up a working party between the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Enterprise and Employment and my Department to look at the issues involved. In conjunction with that, the matter is now being dealt with at European level and I hope detailed proposals on this major problem will be made sooner rather than later.

Women in sport is one of the key issues in the report and the impediments and obstacles to their involvement at participatory, administrative and management levels must be examined. These were highlighted by the Brighton conference two years ago and by a number of women's organisations I met. The women's group will be set up immediately and will be representative of women's organisations, women in sport, the Special Olympics and the Sports Council. I will ask them to report within a maximum period of one year and we will take the matter from there.

As a gesture of my good faith on this matter I recently announced an initiative on camogie to show that my Department and I are interested in promoting women's sport, and camogie is one of our indigenous sports. Some months ago I announced that every camogie club in the country would receive a set of helmets. That might seem a small matter but it is a big one for individual clubs and for parents who want to get their children involved. I hope we can have a further initiative this year. The core issue of overcoming the impediments will be tackled quickly.

The only people who can claim success are the organisations, the athletes and their families and supporters. No Minister or sports leader should claim the success of the individuals who have brought honour to this country.

Like Senator Naughten, I am concerned about the lack of facilities for young people at parish and community levels. The demands total over £500 million and the requests for grants total about £48.2 million, but my budget is £6 million per year. One of the first things we are doing is to ensure the facilities currently available are being used to their maximum potential. Where there are impediments to accessing the facilities we will seek that they be tackled. Many excuses are given for closing facilities from Friday to Monday and after 5 p.m. One such excuse is insurance. While that is a problem, I believe it can be overcome by flexibility and openness between the managers of facilities and the clubs and organisations who wish to operate them. I have seen numerous examples of clubs taking out their own insurance and as a result gaining access to facilities. There may be a demand for a facility costing £500,000 while a facility not far away is closed for much of the time.

There are a number of outdoor pursuit and education/adventure centres; they are excellent projects and there have been requests for funding for further centres. I have asked a review group to address the question as to when an outdoor pursuit centre is an education or sports centre and when it becomes a tourist attraction. On receipt of the group's report, which it will issue soon, I will make a decision quickly.

Senator Cotter said involvement in sport often conflicted with academic achievement but I do not believe there is a conflict. People who become involved in sport are highly motivated and disciplined and academic achievement follows. However, sport and physical recreation activity do not receive accreditation in the education system and as a result are devalued. This matter is addressed in the report and will be dealt with as quickly as possible with regard to the NCBA.

I agree with Senator O'Toole's assertion that sport should be extended to include body movement and flexibility and that such activities should start almost from the cradle. I have seen in New Zealand models and examples of programmes of physical recreation from the day the child is born and involving both parents.

The task force on drugs, raised by Senator Lee, will be put in place immediately in conjunction with the Sports Council of Northern Ireland. Senator Maloney referred to drink and sport and drink advertising. The drinks industry provides major investment in and support for sport. There must be a limit on the type of advertising that takes place and there is a sensitivity regarding this among the drinks manufacturers.

The huge tourism potential, referred to by Senator Maloney, can be marketed even more in our quest to get the Ryder Cup for 2005. The quality of our courses and infrastructure will be a major selling point. The bid is with the authorities and the group appointed to continue with it is meeting today. We must not be complacent, despite the favourable responses.

On the question of sports for those with special needs, the Special Olympics have been getting support. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs has embarked on an initiative to bring them to Ireland in 2003. An all party group is working on it. If they are brought here it will not only put Ireland on the sporting map but will also act as a target for those who are handicapped in different ways but who can enjoy sport. I was privileged to attend the Special Olympics in New Haven last year when I saw the pride and honour felt by young people in representing their country. Great commitment was also evident at the Para-Olympics which were held last August in Atlanta after the Olympic Games. They were very successful.

Senator Wright raised the issue of tax incentives and the involvement of the private sector in the development of sports facilities. This is dealt with in the report. Once the structures are in place all the relevant ideas will be put to the test. I am confident that with imagination and flexibility we can attract substantial private sector investment.

Senator Dardis raised a number of points which I have answered.

Mr. Dardis

How about talks with the IOC?

Mr. Allen

I have offered the IOC a major role in the decision making process set out by me in the implementation programme in the plan. It has been invited to participate in the high performance strategy group, which will be the decision making group regarding funding for elite athletes. It has also been invited to participate in a broader decision making process, which I hope it will accept. It will now enjoy a broader input to the development of sport in this country than hitherto.

I hope we will all co-operate in a positive manner in addressing the needs of the most important people in sport, who are our athletes at all levels. I also hope that there will be a positive response from the IOC, as there has been from most of the federations that have contacted my office since we published the report.

While there are questions regarding the working of the mechanics of the new system, my concern is for the welfare of those participating in sport. Our actions will show that our priority is with them. Getting more people involved in sport at community and parish level is also a priority. The strategies I have set out will ensure this. I thank all Senator who contributed to this debate, to those who formulated the report and to the officials in my Department.

Acting Chairman

I thank the Minister of State for his enlightening and comprehensive response to this worthwhile debate.

Sitting suspended at 1.35 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.

Seanad Éireann debate - Wednesday, 5 Mar 1997