Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator McGahon for raising this issue. I recognise the importance of sport and physical activity for everybody. We need to ensure everybody has the opportunity to participate in sport.

Encouraging greater participation in sport is an important element of the national sports policy and a key aim for the Government. People with a disability have an absolute right to enjoy and reap the rewards of a physically active lifestyle and they should have equal opportunities to be active or to be involved in sport in other ways, including through volunteering.This year, Sport Ireland is investing €11.4 million in core funding for the network of 29 local sports partnerships around the country to undertake a wide range of actions with the aim of increasing sport and physical activity participation levels in their local communities. I suggest that the organisation referred to by the Senator should contact its NGB, the Irish Wheelchair Association or the Louth local sports partnership with a view to making a funding submission to Sport Ireland.

LSP funding focuses particularly on social groups that are harder to reach such as people with a disability, people from areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnic minorities, older adults and women. Through their expertise and local connections with the sports communities, LSPs are able to identify specific needs and deliver effective initiatives accordingly. Sport Ireland is continuing its support of the 29 sport inclusion disability officers across the country this year with investment of over €1 million to help with the work being done to encourage and facilitate more people with disabilities to participate in sport. In addition, over €2.1 million will be invested by Sport Ireland this year in supporting disability sport-focused NGBs to continue their great work in this area. Some €140,000 will be provided to Active Disability Ireland for disability awareness and inclusion programmes.

Dormant accounts funding has been especially significant and is producing good results. Last year, the Department of sport and Sport Ireland provided over €2 million to fund a variety of disability sports projects in local clubs across the country. This funding, and the funding of many other programmes and activities by means of Dormant Accounts Fund, is helping to provide additional sport and physical activity opportunities for those with a disability in every part of the country. This is being done with the great co-operation and ongoing support of the Department for Rural and Community Development, which has demonstrated a strong understanding of the importance of sport for those with a disability or experiencing disadvantage. This year, the Department of sport has received an overall allocation of €10.5 million for dormant accounts sport measures. I assure the Senator that disability sport will again feature prominently in the individual allocations.

The sports capital programme is also available for the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Grants are available to the various organisations that qualify. Over 13,000 projects, including some wheelchair basketball clubs, have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. While the current programme closed last September and we hope to announce equipment-only grants soon, I encourage wheelchair basketball clubs to apply for funding under the next round of the sports capital programme.