Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a new initiative the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, was very keen on having and that I would be there as a Minister of State linking the two Departments. There are many positive linkages we can have. Basically, this is about what the Deputy has said, namely, increasing participation in sport and physical activity. This is the really important part. Physical education as a subject in the leaving certificate is very important, but many more people are not doing leaving certificate physical education. This is the case in primary school and other levels as well. We must, therefore, ensure that physical education is available. We can ensure that we build up strong links between schools and sports. We already have seen several good examples of this type of endeavour, where schools work well with their local sporting communities. I also recognise, however, that this can be difficult for sporting bodies and schools in terms of administration, insurance, etc. There are all these issues that I want to tease out.

I have had some excellent discussions with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the relevant officials as to how we can undertake this work. This is a new position in the Department, so we have been working out exactly how we will do this. The Department of Education is very enthusiastic about this endeavour and I am already set up there. We will have a team there working on this matter, which is important. It is not normal for this to be the structure in the Department of Education. The full details of the arrangements are being worked out as we speak and I think we will have a really beneficial role. Ultimately, there are many joint initiatives in our national sports policy between this Department and the Department of Education. As a starting point, therefore, my new role can help to bring these together and to bring these endeavours to fruition and get the benefits for people. I am not in the Department of Health, but ultimately there are also health benefits too. I refer to enjoyment and local communities working much more closely together.