Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2007
54 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary and post-primary schools here that do not have recourse to physical education and sports facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33878/07]
View answerThe PE curriculum has been designed on the basis that facilities in schools may vary. Many primary schools have a general purpose room and practically all schools have outdoor play areas which are used for teaching different aspects of the PE programme. A similar situation with sports halls and outdoor facilities applies at second level. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. My Department does not have a comprehensive inventory which would indicate the facilities available to each school.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to promoting strong levels of exercise for our children and young people, both in their community and at school.
The extent and quality of local sports facilities has been improved dramatically in recent years, with more than €450 million invested by the Government since 1998 in over 5,000 projects through the sports capital programme. At the same time, PE, general purpose and outdoor play facilities have been provided for schools all over the country through the school building programme. More than €2.6 billion was provided for school building infrastructure between 2000 and 2006 and a further €4.5 billion is to be invested under the new National Development Plan 2007-2013. New curricula for PE in primary schools and at junior certificate level have also been put in place.
Primary schools received €2,000 each in PE equipment grants last year, at a total cost of €6.5 million. A similar grant of €4,000 per pupil, at an overall cost of approximately €3 million, issued to post-primary schools earlier this year. Since 2000 my Department has provided in excess of €5.5 million in grant-aid to primary schools to facilitate the provision of coaching or mentoring in connection with physical education or to purchase resource materials associated with the provision of physical education. Such materials and equipment would normally have a useful life of several years.
Through an increased focus on exercise in school and in the community, the Government is working to encourage more children and young people to become active. The report, The State of the Nation's Children, which was published by the Minister of State with responsibility for children, found that children in Ireland are doing well on physical activity. They are ranked second across the 32 WHO countries for being physically active for at least four hours per week.
I thank the Minister for her reply but I would have preferred if she had answered my question which was to state the number of primary and post-primary schools that do not have access to physical education facilities. I will quote a statement from her Department which appeared in today's newspapers.
I remind the Deputy that quotations are generally not permitted during Question Time.
I will paraphrase what was said. It seems that the implementation of the physical education curriculum in schools depends on the meteorological service rather than on the Department of Education and Science. When will the Minister give serious consideration to the provision of physical education facilities? The recent INTO report stated that 80% of schools in County Donegal have no PE hall and the same applies in 63% of schools in County Clare and 70% of schools in County Kerry. This does not tally with what the Minister just said. I do not wish to be negative in my comments. The Department stated that the physical education curriculum can be implemented when these indoor facilities are provided, such as in Tuam, County Galway. The evidence is there. We all know about the money that needs to be spent on dealing with drugs but money spent on PE facilities is money spent on prevention. Has the Minister further plans to improve physical education facilities? When will PE be included as a subject in the second level curriculum, as has been promised for the past 15 years?
All new school buildings and major refurbishments have PE halls as a matter of course. With 4,000 schools and more than half of primary schools having four teachers or fewer, we will not provide PE halls for very small schools. Last week I opened an extension at a school with 19 children. We did not provide a PE hall in that case but, as it happens, the school in question has adequate space both inside and outside for PE classes. I am sure the Deputy is well aware from his own involvement that grants for sports facilities provided under the sports capital programme are awarded on the basis that the facilities will be made available to youth groups and schools. We are seeing more co-operation in this regard.
In addition to the building fund which I specifically outlined, under the dormant accounts fund, in excess of €6 million was spent on 447 projects for outdoor play areas. In a show of co-operation between my Department and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, significant funding has been provided in recent years for outdoor play areas in schools in CLÁR programme areas.
Deputy O'Mahony inquired about a PE exam. The NCCA has drawn up a syllabus in that regard but two issues still require serious consideration, one of which relates to how assessments would be carried out. The second is that if one were to introduce PE as a subject, one would have to ensure equity of facilities. In addition, regarding PE in schools, it is necessary to take into consideration the pressures on the curriculum, given the length of the school day.
It must also be borne in mind that children spend 20% of their time in school. It is much more important that communities and families consider whether children are walking or cycling to school, sitting in front of the television or playing with their Gameboys or Nintendos and whether their only exercise is imitating playing tennis or another sport.
