asked the Minister for Education if she will provide funds from the national lottery to assist Waterford Sub-Aqua Club replace their boats and search and rescue equipment which are in very poor condition.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Waterford Sub-Aqua Club.
8.
Under the grant-in-aid scheme for sport which is operated by my Department, the allocations for grant-aid are made to national sports organisations for expenditure in the areas of coaching, administration, equipment, international competition and special projects to increase participation or improve standards. Under this scheme an application for grant-aid for the purchase of equipment for training, competition or administration purposes may be made by a club to its national governing body.
At local level, funds are made available to vocational education committees for allocation to youth and sport organisations in their respective administrative areas.
There is no provision in either scheme for the allocation of grants to rescue services.
The Minister's reply is extraordinary as I would have thought that there would be grants for clubs that provided rescue services. This club has already spent £10,000 on premises and equipment and they are looking for just £7,000, which seems a very high rate of expenditure on their part. Does the Minister agree that this is a suitable enterprise to be funded by the lottery?
The provision of assistance for rescue services is the responsibility of another Department, not that of the Department of Education under their sport subhead. However, we are in a position to provide funding for equipment for training and competition purposes. There is no restriction on a particular club using that equipment for rescue services or other activities in which they are involved but, essentially, our objective is to provide for equipment in the further development of the sport at élite and sport for all levels. In the past we have refused to grant-aid agencies such as the Irish Water Safety Association and the Irish Mountain Rescue Association because it is not our responsibility to do so.
I am not sure of the Department to which the Minister referred in his reply. Perhaps it is the Department of the Marine but I received a letter today from the Minister for the Marine and he does not want to be involved in assisting this club because his Department do not allocate funds under the aegis of the national lottery. If the Minister was not referring to the Department of the Marine perhaps he will indicate the Department involved?
Various Departments have responsibility for search and rescue, including the Department of the Marine and the Department of the Environment, who fund the local authorities responsible for rescue services, including the fire service. I accept the Deputy's point that a rescue service such as that provided by the Waterford Sub-Aqua Club should perhaps be assisted but I do not see any cause for conflict. In principle, we are prepared to provide for equipment for competition and indeed for the pursuance of sub-aqua diving and so on. There is nothing to prevent the club from utilising that equipment in their search and rescue exercise.
I do not wish to be contentious and I appreciate the Minister's goodwill in the matter, but it seems extraordinary that a life saving service, who have already provided more than half the cost of their needs, cannot be grant-aided by the national lottery. Will the Minister indicate which Department I should ask for aid for this club?
Move the club to Mayo and you will get a grant.
I spend literally hours every day telling people about so many things that cannot be grant-aided from the national lottery because everyone seems to think it is a crock of gold and that all kinds of things can be included in it.
It must be because there are so many leprechauns around.
The Deputy's point is reasonable and I do not disagree with it. I have had experience of voluntary search and rescue organisations not being in a position to get any money from the State. It is a question that should be looked at but it is certainly not within the ambit of sport. As I said, we provide finance for equipment used in the search and rescue area.
We have spent too much time on this question.
The Department of the Environment and the Department of the Marine are involved and we will look at the question in association with other Departments.
The Minister referred to partial support for sport for all and he accepts that the availability of a rescue service is one of the factors that will influence people in deciding to take up various aquatic sports or mountaineering. On that basis he might find a way to support these activities within the sports subhead of his Department.
It is accepted that the provision of finance for the equipment which these clubs are entitled to acquire provides for their requirements from the point of view of rescue services. As I said, there should not be a necessity for conflict on this issue. I simply cannot see where it arises.