Jimmy Deenihan
Ceist:256 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if a local sports partnership will be approved for County Kerry in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18921/02]
Written Answers. - Local Sports Partnerships.
The creation of local partnerships as envisaged by Government and the social partners in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness was incorporated by the Irish Sports Council in its statement of strategy, 2000-02. This sets out the pathway which will be followed by the council in the creation of such partnerships as a means of creating sustainable sports development infrastructure at local level.
The council is currently piloting the concept amongst the eight selected local partnerships, which were announced on 2 May 2001. These are located in Clare, Donegal, Fingal, Kildare, Laois, Roscommon, Sligo and Tipperary North and were selected, after open competition, to pilot local sports partnerships. The council has also approved the establishment of a further four local partnerships in Cork, Limerick, Meath and Waterford in 2002. It is intended to have an evaluation of the pilot completed by mid-2003 and the outcome of the review will determine the extension of the scheme to other areas.