Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister has just outlined, the publication of the national sports policy demonstrates this Government's recognition of the value of sport to our nation. I know from first-hand experience how playing sport is positively associated with better educational performance and provides young people with life skills such as goal setting, self-improvement, social skills, working in a team or alone to achieve something personally rewarding. Sport can teach us so much about the value of commitment to a worthwhile objective, discipline and many other personal skills.

It is clear how much Irish society has benefited from the contribution of sports clubs and volunteers in our towns and villages. These selfless individuals provide so many people with an outlet to express themselves through sport. A fantastic aspect of sport is that one can have a lifelong relationship with it, whether as a participant, coach, administrator, volunteer or supporter and it is especially pleasing to note that we are seeing so many people staying active for longer. The contribution of sport and physical activity to our country is significant. Its contribution to tackling the challenge of obesity and sedentary lifestyles is critical to maintaining a healthy population. We all benefit when our citizens spend more time off the couch and spend that time in the gym, going for a walk or cycle or getting out on the playing field.

The consultation process which preceded the publication of the national sports policy reiterated how much credit is due to the national governing bodies of sport, the local sports partnerships and other sporting organisations for promoting sport in Ireland. This policy takes account of that extraordinary contribution and presents a vision for sport in 2027 that is based on inspiration for our people; involvement and enjoyment by participants and spectators; and excellence from our high performance athletes. The policy contains 57 actions and is backed up with an envisaged doubling of State investment in sport to €220 million in 2027.

The Government recognises the scale of the challenge we face and is committed to increasing support to achieve our shared ambition. The Minister and I made the case very strongly for an increase in the 2019 Estimates and we have made a really good start that has been widely welcomed by the sports sector. The Minister and I have worked closely on the make-up of the sports leadership group, which is to be co-chaired by us. We are very excited by the establishment of that group. The ambitions of the policy are significant and a lot of work will be required to achieve them all but it has been clear from the launch of the policy that the sporting community in this country is eager to see those targets met which is very heartening and encouraging.

I want to continue to see Irish sportsmen and women inspiring the generations to follow in their footsteps, whether at club or county level in Gaelic games, national teams performing in World Cups, European Championships and across the international arena, or athletes across all disciplines competing with the best in the Olympics and Paralympics. There is nothing more uplifting than seeing our own sporting heroes representing us, with the eyes of the world watching. We know that to keep on inspiring our young people we need to do all we can to help our high performance sports people prepare to the same level as their rivals. Increasing the level of our high performance investment is essential and I have stated my aim to treble the level of financial support to around €30 million over the next decade.

The availability of quality sports facilities also has a big impact on raising performance standards. We continue to invest significant resources through the sports capital programme, as well as the new large-scale sports infrastructure fund. The latest round of the sports capital fund closed just last month and we received a record 2,337 applications, again emphasising how important the scheme is for clubs and communities throughout the country. The Sport Ireland national sports campus is also going to be further developed.

I would like to endorse the Minister’s observations about the sterling work of Mr. John Treacy, Kieran Mulvey and all in Sport Ireland for ensuring that Ireland’s sporting sector continues to develop. I thank them especially for leading the fight for a clean sporting landscape internationally, while still providing opportunities for all the citizens of Ireland to get active and get involved in sport.