Mr. John Treacy:

On the competitive aspect, children are, by their nature, competitive and that is a given. If we put two seven year olds out they will compete against each other. We have probably led the way with many of the governing bodies in highlighting that it is about participation, certainly up to 12 or 13 years of age. Many of the sporting organisations have come in and rolled out programmes in terms of children participating for the sake of doing so and have taken away the aspect of winning the county or the Munster championship at a very early age. That trend has happened and it has helped. Our study will probably prove this in terms of what is happening. The three main field sports we fund are the GAA, the IRFU and the FAI. They have started to tackle these issues. They were hugely competitive for children aged under 12 and it was putting the children off. I am 100% with the Deputy that we need to ensure children are not really competitive at too early an age. Their experience should be fun and enjoyable. What should be encouraged is the attitude that even if they lose by 12 goals it is still a great performance.

With regard to sport time and playtime, in the past many of us participated in sport in a non-formal way. We kicked a ball out on the street. It was playtime but we were involved in sport. A lot of this type of informality has gone. This is why the physical activity guidelines are not being met. It is critical. I support the Deputy 100% that no one should be excluded from activity. If people cannot kick a football that is fine, as there is a sporting activity for them or an activity for them.

Without a shadow of a doubt, children have more choices than they had in the past. If one grew up in a country parish, the option was to play Gaelic games or not to play anything but now children in those areas have much more choice. That is to be welcomed. Parents and schools need to ensure that if a child is not skilled in kicking a football, there is another activity in which he or she can participate. We would strongly encourage that.

In terms of the performing arts, the PE curriculum caters for that. That is why the PE curriculum in primary and secondary schools is very important. The performing arts are part of the PE curriculum. It provides an opportunity for children to become confident in an activity, learn the skills involved at an early age and carry them with them throughout their life. That is an important element. We would advocate having more PE in schools. PE takes place one day a week in primary schools and two days a week in secondary schools. We would love to see increases in the time allocation for PE during school time. We know there is competition for elements of the curriculum in school time and the curriculum is very tight, but it is important to make sure children are involved in an activity during school time. The running a mile initiative during school time is an important development that is being rolled in Mayo and other places during September of this year. It is a matter of finding activities that can be done simply in a confined space or on the local playing field. It is about being creative. We know there are constraints but it is a matter of being creative in order that the teacher is not limited and can arrange some activity for the children to ensure they are physically active and involved in some play or whatever it may be. School boards, parents and teachers need to get into that space and view it as part of children's schooling. We need to change the culture. It is not all about running or reading, writing and mathematics. We are investing in children's health and well-being for life. We need to keep bombarding and brainwashing to get that message out and to get everyone involved. I will hand over to Dr. Una May to address the question on the climbing wall.