Mr. Philip Browne:

I thank the Chairman, Deputy Brendan Griffin, and all of the members of the joint committee for the opportunity to meet them and outline background information on our sport. I will cover the specific areas outlined by the committee in its invitation.

The IRFU was founded in 1874 and is the governing body for rugby football on the island of Ireland. The IRFU is a representative body that is grounded on the club as its basic representative unit. The IRFU is a federal body with four autonomous provincial branches to whom the clubs are affiliated. The clubs elect representatives to their respective branches. The branches, which comprise the clubs, then elect persons to represent them at the national level of the IRFU.

Democracy is the fundamental governance principle that underpins the game and its structures in Ireland. Under the current laws, clubs have discretion as to whom they select to represent them at the various levels of the game's administration, including the IRFU at national level. The IRFU, as an administrative body, is made up of a committee of 21 elected representatives with two additional positions held by our World Rugby representatives. There is scope to co-opt a further two persons. At present, one of these co-options has been used to accommodate the appointment of Ms Mary Quinn to the IRFU committee. Ms Quinn has previously been the chair of the Leinster women's rugby committee in the Leinster branch.

In terms of the women's game, virtually no women's rugby was played in Ireland 25 years ago. Up until 2008, there was a separate Irish Women's Rugby Football Union, IWRFU. It organised embryonic competitions and representative teams through the existing IRFU club structure. In 2008, following extensive discussions, the IWRFU was disbanded and women's rugby came under the umbrella of the IRFU. This was the first major rugby union in the world to integrate. Since then, all IRFU development resources cater for both men and women's rugby. The IRFU now operates the successful national Irish women's team and the Irish women's 7s programme and under age development squads. However, that does not get away from the fact that contrary to public perception, the women's game, though growing, is still in an embryonic state. Currently there are just under 5,000 females playing the game. In the past ten years, the percentage of clubs with women's sections has increased from 12% to 54%. This is something we have outlined in our current strategic plan. There is an ongoing commitment to promote participation of women within our game.

Clubs have been proactive in promoting women from within their membership not because they are women per se,but because they have been involved in the running or coaching of the game. They are respected as people who have accumulated rugby wisdom or skills set and an affinity for the game which makes them effective representatives and administrators. Last year, we published our long-term development strategy for the women's game that we will leave with the committee secretariat. The aim of that strategy is to encourage more women to undertake leadership roles in coaching, volunteering and the administration of our game. This is an ongoing project and one that we hope will develop even more women of the calibre and experience of Mary Quinn.

In terms of gender quotas, the suggestion by the Government that it is considering the imposition of gender quotas on sports organisations is a concern for the simple reason that female rugby is still in its infancy and it will be difficult to find suitably qualified female candidates with the accumulated rugby wisdom and skill set to fill such quotas without retreating towards tokenism. Apart from being anti-democratic and a potential breach of the laws of the union, such an activity would be the very antithesis of good governance. The inference behind the suggestion of quotas is that in some way the existing governance model of Irish rugby holds back the women's game. I suggest the evidence is quite the contrary. Since the IRFU took on responsibility for the women's game in 2007, we have seen a threefold growth in the women's game. We have also witnessed the success of our national women's team who have twice won the Women's Six Nations Championship. In fact, the team became the first Irish rugby team to beat New Zealand. We have also witnessed the emergence of a successful and promising Irish women's 7s team. It has worked its way up the rankings and hopes to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games. Furthermore, our commitment to the promotion of the women's game is second to none, particularly this year with the hosting of the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. I suggest that the evidence shows that regardless of the fact that the emergence of the women's game has not yet been matched by the emergence of women with the accumulated skills and desire to work their way through the democratic structures of Irish rugby, the IRFU has in no way inhibited the development and growth of the women's game. Governance is a constant work in progress. Our governance working party is considering all aspects of rugby governance. The women's game and representation is part of that brief.

In terms of funding and grants, the effective delivery of any sport is based on the work that occurs in communities, clubs and schools to develop male and female players at youth level and beyond. The effective delivery of sport is resource intensive. Resources must be applied to support the volunteers who are the bedrock of most sports and rugby is no different. With the assistance of Sport Ireland funding, the IRFU continues to develop and invest in the foundation that creates our success. Last year, the IRFU's turnover was €72 million and Sport Ireland grants amounted to 3.6% of the turnover or €2.6 million.

The IRFU's investment into the club and community game has grown in recent years to €10 million. The IRFU allocates around €3 for every €1 of funding it receives from Sport Ireland. We are more than grateful for the funding from Sport Ireland. However, it should be noted that its funding has declined during the recession. We hope, like the rest of the sports community, that this situation will be rectified by an increase in the budget available for Sport Ireland. Funding must move further up the priority list of the Government given the obvious and well documented benefits of all sports, particularly the role played by team sports in terms of physical and mental well-being of our youth, along with the personal development opportunities that come with team sports.

The capital sports grant programme is imperative for the modernisation of rugby clubs. In the last grant round, rugby only accessed 7% of the available grants, which is a similar trend that occurred in previous funding rounds. Growth in participation has placed increased pressure on our existing club and school infrastructure. The IRFU aspires to have a network of 16 artificial pitches across Ireland that can be accessed by clubs, schools and community groups, especially during periods of heavy weather. The IRFU would like to work with the Department to support clubs accessing grants for this purpose. The IRFU has previously proposed that there is an opportunity for economies of scale through a single application. It is estimated that there would be a list price reduction of 15% per pitch should the IRFU make a signal application for multiple pitches and the development being centrally managed by the IRFU.

My final comment on capital funding relates to the development of the national sports campus. I commend all those involved, including Mr. Kieran Mulvey, Mr. John Treacy and Mr. David Conway of Sport Ireland, and the current Minster and his predecessors. What we see emerging is a world class set of facilities for multiple sports on the same campus. The venue provides the benefit of cross-fertilisation of ideas, philosophies and methods between high-performing sports for the benefit of all of Irish sport. It may end up being a unique international facility and provide Irish sport with a unique advantage over other sporting nations. From a rugby perspective, we urge the Minister and the Government not to lose the opportunity to finish the project. In this regard, I specifically reference phase 2 of the soon to be opened national indoor arena. The phase 2 development incorporates a high-performance rugby facility that will, with additional investment by the IRFU, cater for the needs of our men's and women's international teams at senior and age grade levels. Currently alone among tier 1 rugby nations, we have no training facilities for our successful international teams and rely on the goodwill of clubs or schools. This is far from ideal if we aspire to be the best that we can be in the world of rugby.

Since 2004, the IRFU has published successive strategic plans. We are in the process of finalising our latest strategic plan for the period up to 2021. Our focus is to continue to grow and promote our game with reference to our core values such as inclusivity and respect. These values ensure we welcome and promote diversity not only in the playing of our game, but in our clubs, governance and administration.

As our playing numbers increase so too does our need to educate and ensure that anyone who plays our game understand our values and ethos. Last season, we worked with our colleagues in Sport Ireland on a new anti-doping programme. The programme has been championed by our international teams and continues to be rolled out across our clubs and schools. The IRFU is fully committed to the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, and Sport Ireland's anti-doping code and regulations. We have utilised new media to reach out to our youth. We use this medium to educate people on anti-doping as well as issues such as player welfare and anti-bullying, which are issues that are also important to the Government. In addition, we operate partnerships with Pieta House on suicide awareness and prevention, and we work with the CARA organisation on tag rugby programmes for players with special learning needs.

A key challenge for rugby and all sports in Ireland is how to continuously adapt to a rapidly changing environment. I will list the challenging areas for the IRFU. The changing and increased regulatory environment for sport has implications for volunteers and clubs in terms of legal liability and costs.

On foot of socio-economic changes in Irish society and changing social trends, team sports face competition from a much wider range of pastimes and activities, many of them solitary, than in the past. We also face the challenge of maintaining the competitiveness of our professional teams in the face of competitors based in the larger, more valuable markets in England and France.

I thank the committee for providing me with the time to address it and for the sports funding we receive. We could always use more. I hope members will take time out of their busy schedules to enjoy some of the top quality rugby on offer this year.