Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021
290. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when children involved in elite sports will be able to train indoors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24001/21]
View answerSubject to the prevailing public health situation, the Government has recently decided that individual indoor training for all age groups and all levels may resume from the 7th of June. The Government will make further decisions in due course in regard to further lifting of restrictions on activity indoors.
A limited exemption is currently in place to enable high performance sportspeople to continue their sporting activities, indoors and outdoors, principally focused on allowing our high performance athletes and teams to qualify and prepare effectively for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The applicable definition is that contained in the relevant public health regulations, namely those athletes that:
- are in receipt of financial support provided by Sport Ireland under the scheme commonly known and referred to as the Sport Ireland International Carding Scheme
- compete at a senior level and are participants in a high performance training programme of the national governing body of the sport, which body receives, from Sport Ireland, financial support commonly known and referred to as the Sport Ireland High Performance Programme Funding
- are professional sportspersons who receive payment for training and playing sport under a contract of employment with a soccer club or the rugby football organisation commonly known and referred to as the Irish Rugby Football Union
- are members of an inter-county team, at senior level, in a competition organised by the organisations commonly known and referred to as the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association or the Camogie Association
Additionally, Sport Ireland may, in consultation the Health Service Executive, provide certification to additional High Performance or Pathway athletes. These are athletes that represent or have the potential to represent Ireland at an internationally competitive level.
Any athlete seeking certification under these legislative provisions should in the first instance apply to their National Governing Body. Sport Ireland assesses each application in accordance with the provisions and criteria set out in the above-mentioned Regulations.
