Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. I apologise for not being here earlier, but there was a vote in the Seanad and a number of other committee meetings were taking place this morning. At the last session, the GAA raised the issue of a task force. I understand it has been in correspondence with the Department of Health on the subject. Is the Department of Health going to give serious consideration to establishing a task force which would have representatives of various sporting organisations and sports medicine bodies as well as primary and post-primary schools? Such a task force could devise a programme for dealing with the general issue of sports injury. Can we proceed with establishing such a task force, as called for by the GAA, and could the witnesses outline the timescale for its establishment? What is the thinking within the Department on this?

The next issue I wish to raise relates to primary schools, particularly those in urban areas. Where I work, on the north side of Cork city, one of the schools had more than 400 students but no indoor sports facilities, which was problematic given the Irish climate. The school fought for over 15 years before it got an indoor facility that could accommodate the students for physical education. Has the Department of Education and Skills carried out an audit of primary schools, particularly in urban areas, in terms of indoor sports facilities? In fairness to the Department, I know it must prioritise areas in which there are no schools at all or where there is a sudden increase in demand for primary school places. That said, perhaps it could roll out a five to ten year programme to provide or improve indoor sports facilities in primary schools. Has an audit been done to identify where the deficiencies are at present? What information is available in that regard?