Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Mahony for his comments. I also thank the members of the committee who attended the launch in July. It was a successful launch and the document was well received. It is now a matter for all of us to implement and collaborate on. In reply to Senator O'Mahony, it is the first full and comprehensive sports policy the country has ever had. While we have had papers previously, there has been nothing as comprehensive as this and nothing that has involved as much consultation with, and feedback from, key stakeholders. It is a watershed moment for Irish sport and a case now of ensuring we implement everything we want to achieve by 2027.

I was asked about the high performance element. Page 56 of the document sets out a detailed outline of the high performance strategy. I know what the Senator is asking, but it is something of a chicken and egg scenario. If the money is not put in, a sport is less likely to achieve success. It is a difficult matter and one which is ultimately for Sport Ireland to administer. The key is that a new strategy is being put together and implemented on high performance. A new working group has been established and it will work on a strategy throughout 2019 before presenting its final report at roughly this time next year, if not, hopefully, a little earlier, with a view to setting out a 12-year plan to be reviewed every four years in line with the Olympics cycle. That is how we hope to do it. The micro-decisions will be made by Sport Ireland which has an excellent record on high performance and providing for our athletes. The Senator will be familiar with the campus and its high performance unit which is doing great work. On capital expenditure, we are trying to provide improved facilities through the development of the campus.

In the context of the women in sports programme, the doubling of funding to €2 million was positive. That funding is distributed to the national governing bodies for sports programmes to target women who are either not participating or who are not as active as they would like to be. Sport Ireland distributes the funding to the governing bodies which implement the programmes on the ground. The increased budget we have achieved has helped with the positive results of the programme. Hopefully, we will increase the funding further in time.

When we set the target to move from €111 million to €220 million by 2027 over nine budgets, it implied a projected a requirement to increase the budget by €12 million in 2019 on top of what was there in 2017. Thankfully, we have secured an increase of €16.5 million in the 14 months between the budget and the end of 2019. Of that, €15 million is for 2019. As such, we are ahead of target. Given the projected average requirement of €12 million over nine budgets, we are off to a good start with €15 million in 2019. We need to keep going every year because this document will be of no use if the funding is not provided to match it. However, having the funding is one thing; we need all of the players and stakeholders to get together and ensure they play their part. That is what the implementation and leadership group is about.