Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 January 2023
55. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans to promote the participation of girls and young women in sport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3561/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIncreasing participation levels in sport for all age cohorts as well as addressing women’s participation is an important element of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 and a core priority for me and Minister Catherine Martin.
Along with Sport Ireland, the statutory agency for the promotion of sport in Ireland, we will continue to promote and encourage greater participation in sport by women and girls.
For 2023, the Government has provided a current budget allocation of €89.7 million for Sport Ireland which will enable the agency to continue to support the sport sector this year, including support for increased participation by women and girls.
The Women in Sport funding programme is an important support for sporting bodies in putting programmes in place to increase women’s participation in their sports and to progress their strategic objectives for women in sport. Sport Ireland allocated €4 million in the Women in Sport Programme for the 2021-2022 period. 45 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) received funding under this investment. A further €265,000 was invested in the Local Sports Partnerships under the Programme.
Sport Ireland will open a new cycle of Women in Sport funding for NGBs in the second quarter of this year. The funding guidelines will continue to encourage NGBs to develop women in sport programmes and initiatives focused on the key areas outlined in Sport Ireland's Policy on Women in Sport.
One of those key areas is leadership and governance. As the Deputy will be aware, the National Sports Policy recognises the importance of women's participation in leadership positions such as board members of NGBs. The Sports Action Plan sets a target for all NGBs to achieve 40% gender representation on their boards by the end of this year. It is a priority to enable women to take more leadership positions in sport and the 40% target reflects this prioritisation.
Sport Ireland continues to promote women and girls participation in sport, including through various campaigns, for example, the "It's My Time" campaign and HER Outdoors week.
"It's my Time" was launched last November, in partnership with Healthy Ireland, and aims to encourage women over 40 to increase activity levels through exercise and sport. Repeated studies, including Sport Ireland’s Irish Sport Monitor, have shown that women over 40, particularly those from disadvantaged communities, are amongst the least likely to be physically active or play sport.
The HER Outdoors Week aims to celebrate and encourage more females to get out and enjoy the benefits of being in the outdoors while bringing visibility to the opportunities for females to get involved in outdoor physical activity. The campaign targets all females including females with a disability, females from diverse ethnic groups, older females, teenage girls, and females from disadvantaged areas, etc.
