Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2018
92. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to reports (details supplied) published by Sport Ireland; his views on figures suggesting the emergence of a concerning pattern; and the measures he is taking to prevent an increase of this pattern. [7711/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Central Statistics Office (CSO) published a report “The Wellbeing of the Nation” in January 2018 which collated statistics from various existing sources. Using Sport Ireland’s survey, the "Irish Sports Monitor" (ISM), the CSO identified that participation in sport had fallen by 2% between 2013 and 2015.
Sport Ireland published the 2017 half year ISM report in December 2017 shows a 1% fall in participation levels compared to the same period in 2015. A full year report for 2017 is expected to be published in the second quarter of 2018 when a more definitive picture of the current situation will emerge.
The ISM report suggests that the drop in participation levels in recent years has been driven primarily by declining levels of participation among young males in particular. While this is still the group with the highest levels of participation overall, there is evidence to suggest that the upturn in our economic circumstances in the past few years has resulted in increased time pressures on certain groups, particularly young males.
Sport Ireland is committed to providing enhanced sporting opportunities targeted at those less likely to participate through the Local Sports Partnership network, National Governing Bodies and other partners. Programmes such as the Community Sports Hub initiative, Sports Inclusion Disability Programme, Go For Life and Women in Sport are aimed at providing targeted opportunities for disadvantaged groups, people with disabilities, older people and women where participation levels are generally lower than among comparator groups.
In the context of a new National Sports Policy that is currently being finalised there will be a strong focus on increasing participation levels in sport and physical activity at all ages. Achieving such increased participation levels is a significant challenge that will require the development of new projects and programmes in the future as well as continued implementation of existing successful initiatives. Additionally, my Department is co-chairing the National Physical Activity Plan implementation group. Significant progress has been made in relation to actions within that Plan, details of which are available in a progress report published on the Healthy Ireland website in December 2017 http://www.healthyireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/NPAP-Summary-Progress-Report.pdf
