Mr. John Horan:

Ar son Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, I thank the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response for the invitation to engage with it on a topic that has been uppermost in our thoughts, and the thoughts of many individuals and organisations, during what has already been an extremely challenging year. The events of recent days have brought that into sharp focus, reminding us of the importance of collective responsibility and staying the distance in the fight against the pandemic. While we are here as the three largest sporting organisations in the country in terms of participation and profile, I am also conscious that we represent all of the incredible sporting associations in the country and the volunteers who sustain them.

Studies the world over recognise the importance of the sporting and physical and active health of a nation. As a former secondary school principal of a large inner city school for almost ten years, I have seen at first hand the role that sport and recreation have to play in the physical, mental and emotional well-being of young people, and their positive impact on their communities. Be it swimming, cycling, athletics, basketball, boxing or any of the many other sports being promoted as well as our sports, it is important to recognise the return on State investment and support of sport is a stronger, healthier, happier and a caring population.

The GAA is primarily about two things, people and the playing of games. There is so much more to what we do but, in essence, the vast majority of what we do falls under these two headings. On 12 March last, we lost our ability to stage games and activities. Crucially, the importance of people across our wider membership came to the fore in ways that previously we could only have imagined. In standing down our games and activities when we did, we set out one of the key principles of our approach to dealing with Covid-19, namely, to assist the country and people of Ireland in any way possible to deal with the pandemic. From that day through to this one, being cautious and responsible, keeping the safety of our membership and their communities paramount and remaining consistent with public health advice have underpinned everything we have done at local and national level.

The response of our clubs and their members to lockdown was staggering, helping to establish Community Call in conjunction with partners and other Government agencies. Some 20,000 people volunteered to oversee basic menial tasks such as shopping and the collection of medicines for people in more than 35,000 households across all 32 counties who were either cocooning or in a vulnerable category. Additionally, a myriad of other organic voluntary activity is taking place across our network right across the island and further afield, not to mention incredible charitable initiatives and fundraising. We were also delighted to make our facilities available to the HSE at 20 locations throughout Ireland, seeing stadiums and clubhouses being used in a way we never previously considered. It was, in fact, a very visible GAA response to the fight in flattening the curve and a source of pride for us to see our facilities so prominent.

Another cornerstone of our approach was to appoint a Covid-19 advisory committee, chaired by Shay Bannon and including An Cumann Camógaíochta and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association. In so doing, we were one of the first organisations to take that step. The medical expertise offered by this respected grouping has guided us on every step of the journey and will continue to do so in the months ahead. The emphasis we have placed on our plans to return has been one of safety first and we remain steadfast in this commitment.

While it has been difficult to quantify the loss of games to communities and people throughout the country, we know from the outpouring of positivity on their return how badly they were missed. In three of the most recent Government policies on mental health, sport has been highlighted as a major protective factor. Similarly, in our most recent return on investment report, conducted by Munster GAA, 64% of parents cited the positive impact of sport on mental health as one reason for overseeing the participation of their child in organised sport.

For many, the games and associated activity provide a pulse and rhythm to their lives and communities. Nowhere was the absence of games and training more acutely felt than among our youngest and most senior members. In the absence of classroom schooling, it is an accepted fact that many young people struggled with isolation and being away from their friends. Similarly, the social outing that was the stroll to the local field and the accompanying catch-up was sorely missed by our more experienced members, many of whom were housebound for long periods. It was a way of living that we never thought we would have to contemplate.

The physical importance of sport and exercise is well known to us all but one major lesson from the whole experience, which is not finished yet, has been the importance of mental well-being and the social element to physical activity, not least when it is undertaken around others. It was for these reasons that we decided at a very early stage that any return to activity would be for the many and not the few. Our decision to return with club activity was taken with 100% of our players in mind and not only the 2% who play our games at inter-county level. It was our belief all along, which was borne out, that club activity at every level and right across the island would reinvigorate communities and provide a badly missing sense of purpose and unity. Needless to say, it was not without its challenges. Within ten days, we constructed a dual approach to our phased return. This was not as fast as it might have been but it was our intention to ensure that our members came back to our games both educated and comfortable at the pace of return. Our watch words were safety, caution and acting responsibly.

We asked every active member to complete an e-learning module in addition to filling out an online questionnaire every time they presented for either training or games. That questionnaire has been completed more than 7.3 million times, peaking on a recent Saturday at 120,000 in one day. At peak times, eight forms are completed every second. Similarly, we were determined to stage as many of our GAA Cúl Camps as possible at a time they were so badly needed. One positive case, unconnected to the playing of our games, from an attendance of 71,000 children aged between six and 13, vindicated our decision to proceed with the ever-popular camps, which were overseen by 4,000 coaching personnel at 900 venues. Our games have been back for 13 weeks and while a small number of clubs have been impacted by a positive Covid case in their community, the numbers are minute when set against an organisation of 600,000 active members across 1,600 clubs.