Finian McGrath
Ceist:315 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will come up with a plan to develop sports in disadvantaged areas. [14013/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 5 April 2007
Ceisteanna (320)
Freagraí scríofa
The budget for sport has increased from €17 million in 1997 to over €295 million in 2007. By the end of 2006, the Government had invested over €900 million directly into sport since 1997, to support the promotion and development of Irish sport and the provision of a modern sporting infrastructure with high quality facilities catering for the participation, coaching, training and competition needs of all levels and types of sport. Furthermore the National Development Plan 2007-2013 includes a commitment to provide €991m for sport under the aegis of my own Department during the period up to 2013. This is an unprecedented level of funding in the history of Irish sport and is largely directed at ensuring that opportunities for participation in sport exist for all communities in every part of Ireland.
The increased funding provided by the Government to the Irish Sports Council from €13 million in 2000 to over €54 million this year has enabled a number of significant interventions for the benefit of disadvantaged areas. Examples include the Local Sports Partnerships network, development officers in National Governing Bodies and special funding to the FAI, GAA and IRFU aimed at increasing participation among children and young people.
The Local Sports Partnerships have received over €16.2 million in Government funding since they were first set up in 2001 and they represent a major opportunity to engage socially disadvantaged people in sport. The Sports Partnership network will be a national network by the end of 2007. One major initiative for this network will be the investment of funds from the Dormant Accounts for disability officers and for areas of disadvantage, with €2 million available under each initiative.
The Irish Sports Council's Buntús programme is now rolling out to primary schools in Local Sports Partnership areas. The programme aims to support the primary PE curriculum by providing equipment, resource cards and training to teachers. Feedback through the LSP network for the programme has been extremely positive. The Buntús approach to introducing children to sport has also been adopted by the FAI as Buntús soccer, by the IRFU as Buntús Tag Rugby and is also being delivered in programmes with golf, badminton and basketball. "Buntús Start" has also been introduced for pre-school children (3-5 year olds) and is delivered in cooperation with the HSE and County Childcare Committees.
The Irish Sports Council's investment in programmes, such as Women in Sport and Sport for Older People, is more evidence of the targeted approach to sports development, seeking to advance those who face the biggest barriers in sport.
The FAI, in particular, supported by the Government is carrying out valuable work in disadvantaged areas. A further €1 million is being provided by the Government to the FAI this year towards the continued implementation of its Technical Development Plan. Since the launch of the plan in 2004, the FAI has made excellent progress in increasing participation at all levels for all sectors of society thus making a positive impact on social and community issues throughout the country.
Some of the key successes include the recruitment of more than 20 Football in the Community Development Officers, in cooperation with local authorities, to work in the most disadvantaged areas in the country through programmes such as Midnight leagues, inner city Futsal and street leagues targeting the at risk youth communities. The recently launched FAI Mini-Pitch Programme involving the FAI, various Local Authorities and my own Department and providing 64 enclosed small-sized pitches all around the country is another excellent example.
The sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country to put in place sporting facilities or purchase sporting equipment.
As part of the evaluation process of the programme, prioritisation is given to projects from urban and rural disadvantaged areas. Disadvantaged areas are those that have been designated by Government for special support through the RAPID, Local Drugs Task Force and CLÁR Programmes. In addition, applicants from these areas only have to provide evidence of 20% own funding for the projects for which they are applying as against 30% for applicants from non-disadvantaged areas. Furthermore, my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, makes available additional allocations to successful applicants from disadvantaged areas.
Since 2003, when the current system of prioritisation for applicants from disadvantaged areas was put in place, over €91.75 million has been allocated to projects from RAPID, CLAR and Local Drugs Task Force areas under the programme and additional allocations of over €12 million have been made by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The Government has invested heavily in capital and current programmes to support sport. Significantly, we have also responded to the needs of those who are viewed as being outside the traditional sports sector.