Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2185. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the role he has taken to ensure parity of male and female participation in publicly funded stadia in different codes operating here. [33296/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra2186. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is satisfied with the funding for a programme (details supplied) over the past two years. [33297/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 2185 and 2186 together.
Sport Ireland, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the promotion, development and co-ordination of sport. This includes responsibility for the development of strategies for increasing participation in sport and the funding of related programmes.
The Women in Sport programme was established in 2005 with the aim of increasing women's participation in sport, including non-participatory opportunities through volunteering and coaching. Since 2005, Sport Ireland has provided €19.5 million to National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Sports Partnerships under the Women in Sport Programme to increase participation in sport among women and girls. In 2018 Sport Ireland will invest approximately €1million specifically to support Women in Sport initiatives. €1 million was also invested in 2017.
Just over a decade ago, in 2007, there was a gap of almost 16% in active participation levels between genders. In the intervening decade, this gap has narrowed to just 4.5% in 2017 according to the recently published Irish Sports Monitor Annual Report. The 2017 Report also shows that 40.8% of females regularly participate in sport compared to 39.3% in 2015.
My Department's new National Sports Policy, which will be published shortly, aims at increasing the levels of participation in sport and physical activity across the population over the next ten years, with a specific focus on less active groups including women and girls.
In relation to Government support for capital projects, the Sports Capital Programme (SCP) as operated by my Department provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. The full terms and conditions of the SCP are available on my Department's website. SCP applicants must sign a declaration guaranteeing that they will not deny anybody access to any facility for which they have received a grant on the grounds of gender, civil status, family status, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, religious belief, or membership of the Traveller Community without just, reasonable and proper cause. Amongst the considerations for deciding allocations under the SCP are the likelihood of increasing participation and whether the proposed facility will be shared with other sports clubs. An announcement in relation to the timing of the next round of the SCP will be made shortly.
In terms of future investment, aside from the SCP, the National Development Plan also contains a commitment to establish a new “Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund” with at least €100m available over the coming years. In relation to the design of the scheme, my officials have been engaging with relevant stakeholders on the proposed terms and conditions of the new scheme. While these conditions are not yet finalised, I envisage that factors such as the likelihood of increasing participation and the availability of the proposed facilities to as broad a range of users as possible will be significant in terms of deciding which projects to fund.
Finally if the deputy is aware of any instances of the breach of the terms and conditions of the Sports Capital Programme he can make my officials aware through my office.
