Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020
242. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she has engaged with or plans to engage with any of the organisations that provide children’s gymnastic classes to hear their concerns regarding Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41679/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been, and will continue to be, a regular, ongoing engagement with the sports sector as a whole, including with the national governing body for gymnastics in Ireland.
I am committed to ensuring the earliest possible safe return of such classes. To that end I have recently written to all National Governing Bodies, including Gymnastics Ireland, seeking written submissions and all available evidence and data for the purposes of informing the development of tailored proposals and approaches for future mitigation measures. It is my objective that such submissions would enable the Government to review and potentially adapt the suite of public health measures currently applying to sport and exercise activities.
In addition to direct engagement with Sport Ireland, the statutory agency for the development of sport in Ireland, sporting organisations including Gymnastics Ireland, have also contributed to regular meetings of the Sports Monitoring Group, which is chaired at Ministerial level. Moreover, the Expert Group on Return to Sport, which is chaired by my Department, has reviewed and provided, via Sport Ireland, feedback to the body referred to by the Deputy on its return to sport protocols. As part of my commitment to a strong collaboration with the sports sector in pursuit of our ambitious policy aims, it is my intention to meet all of the sporting organisations in person when circumstances permit.
Currently, in Level 3 individual training indoors is permitted, however indoor exercise and gymnastics classes are not. I recognise that there is great disappointment among those who wish to engage in such classes. However, given the current epidemiological situation, it has been necessary to put in place very significant restrictions to arrest the current trajectory of the disease and break transmission chains. This means asking people to stay at home and eliminating as much activity and contacts as is possible to ensure that opportunities for the virus to transmit are minimised, while allowing essential activities to continue. Unfortunately, this means minimising discretionary activities including indoor sports training, gymnastics and exercise classes.
