Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 November 2020
49. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans to support young persons returning to sports in a post-Covid-19 society given the substantial drop-off of participation in children’s attendance after the first lockdown. [37324/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI agree that it is vitally important that efforts continue to be made to promote and encourage increased sport and physical activity by young people for a whole variety of reasons, in particular and physical and mental well-being benefits.
While the restrictions on sport have been difficult, there are some encouraging signs concerning participation levels among young people during the pandemic. The latest Ipsos MRBI research on the ‘Impact of Covid-19 Restrictions on Sport and Recreational Walking’, carried out in July on behalf of Sport Ireland, indicated that at the peak of the pandemic restrictions, 89% of 15-24 year olds were taking part in recreational walking, compared to 51% prior to restrictions. Furthermore, 82% of 15-24 year olds indicated that they participated in Sport in the previous 7 days compared to 71% prior to restrictions.
In order to support sport through the pandemic, earlier this month, Minister Martin and I announced details of an unprecedented €85 million funding package for the Irish sport sector, which has been significantly impacted by the various Covid-19 restrictions imposed since March 2020. This significant investment will reach all levels of the sport sector with National Governing Bodies (NGB), Local Sports Partnerships (LSP) and thousands of grassroots clubs across Ireland set to benefit.
In addition to this funding for NGBs, clubs and LSPs, Sport Ireland is pursuing a wide range of initiatives and programmes that are of particular interest and relevance to young people. Examples include youth leadership training and the development and dissemination of educational resource materials for parents to use to develop their skills in positively supporting children and young people’s participation in sport. There are also plans to promote more child centred clubs and also create a coaching module that is multi-sport, and is targeted at coaches of teenage girls teams/athletes that will address the dropout of teenage girls from sport/physical activity.
I will arrange for Sport Ireland to furnish a comprehensive report to the Deputy of its activities and plans in this area. Please contact my private office if you do not receive this within ten working days.
