Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister certainly gave him a run for his money with his support for the women's hockey team. He mentioned it in his address. Somehow he hopes to garner some of the goodwill from their success. That hockey team pulled itself up by its bootlaces to achieve what it achieved. We are reacting with support and by all means I welcome the support for that team now but the support was not there when the team needed it in its infancy. That is what we need to focus on in this policy document, to ensure that the support is there when needed, not when there are cameras present, when there is publicity but in the quiet, out of the public glare, so that we do see an increase in participation.

Yesterday the Irish rugby star, Louise Galvin was quoted in the Irish Independent. The article stated:

Curbs on playground games as well as limited or no PE sessions can leave many children at risk of not meeting the recommended 60 minutes' exercise a day. Often it's the PE hall in school that's the first to go if there is a concert or exam going on. [...] Ms Galvin, who is a qualified physiotherapist and is now doing a masters in sports and exercise medicine at the University of Ulster, said parents could think of basic ways to get their children active at home. [...] Ms Galvin is an ambassador for the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists [...] She said children learn a lot more from sport, especially when it comes to mistakes and dealing with disappointment. They learn it's ok to fail. "Sport also gives more balance to the young pupil's life and has huge concentration benefits for study," she added [...] "Girls in sport have better self-images and more confidence."

That sums it up well. As the Minister is aware, many local authorities the length and breadth of the country are picking up the tab or partially picking up the tab to pay for development officers in their municipal areas. In Westmeath we partly fund development officers in the GAA and rugby and some of my colleagues tell me that has extended to cricket and other areas. Is the Minister happy that local authorities are funding this? It is welcome that they are but it is not the ideal funding stream.

The other half is being funded by sporting bodies.

Obesity in younger people is one of the greatest challenges facing Ireland, and how we encourage greater participation in sports is so important. Yesterday's article mentioned the fostering of a culture of competitiveness from an early age, ensuring that people realise it is okay to fail in sports but it is also important to be competitive. If we do not foster competitiveness at an early age, how will we achieve targets set down for Olympic medals? We are often compared with New Zealand because we are similar in population but it beats us in achievements on the sporting fields. That country fosters a culture of competitiveness. Have we a clear plan on how to achieve our target for Olympic medals? Will we focus on a number of key supports where we feel we have the most realistic chance or how is it envisaged that the target will be achieved?

The Minister and the Minister of State mentioned the quality of sporting facilities. Our sports capital programme must be acknowledged for the success it is. When will the large-scale sports infrastructure fund finally be opened? Responses to parliamentary questions indicate it will open "shortly" for months. Is it possible for the Minister to give a clear timeframe on that? Many sporting bodies await the opening of the fund.

One of the key targets is the adoption by all funded sports bodies of the governance code for the community, voluntary and charity sector. It is critical in light of what happened at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and what transpired with the Olympic Council of Ireland. What percentage of our sporting bodies meet the governance code currently? Is there a large body of work to be done to bring the sporting bodies to a standard where they could fulfil the governance code requirements?