Ms Niamh Daffy:

I thank Senator Conway for his kind words on our organisation and what we are doing to advance and enhance opportunities for people with disabilities to lead active and healthy lifestyles. In my opening statement I mentioned that there has been a significant increase in commitments throughout the sport and physical activity sector on organisations opening their doors and providing opportunities for people with disabilities. There is still a long way to go to have a whole societal collaborative approach to this with regard to clubs in particular. Much has happened from a Government point of view right down to club level. The national sports policy highlights a commitment to reducing the gradient in the participation of people with disabilities in sport. Within this is a clear indicator and a commitment from the Department, Sport Ireland and the sports leadership group established to support the implementation of the national sports policy on how we can go about addressing the gaps that exist with regard to the participation of people with disabilities in sport and physical activity.

Some steps have been taken on grants and funding for these organisations, for example the sports capital programme. We have worked very closely with Sport Ireland on the sports capital programme to embed particular questions on inclusion and criteria for inclusion so that organisations availing of a grant need to look at their facilities and programmes to ensure they are inclusive of people with disabilities. Within this we also ask these organisations, and it is a stipulation within the criteria, that they sign up and commit to the sports inclusion disability charter. While they may not immediately be able to make major changes, they have committed to looking at their organisations to make them and their sports offerings more inclusive for people with disabilities. The grants run by Sport Ireland through the local sports partnerships and the national governing bodies also have inclusive criteria built in. The sports inclusion disability officers work very closely at local level with those clubs looking for additional funding. They also support them to make sure their organisations and club structures are inclusive of people with disabilities.

To answer Senator Conway's question honestly, there is a lot happening in this space. There probably needs to be more done on national grants that filter right down to club level. We see it happening in other Departments. Recently, the Department of Community and Rural Development embedded inclusion criteria into its outdoor infrastructure scheme. This allows us to work with organisations applying for the funding to ensure their outdoor facilities and infrastructure are inclusive of people with disabilities. This is something that is gaining momentum. A lot more still needs to be done but it certainly is being considered, from policy level right down to the grant schemes in place at present.