Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

In accordance with the rules and programme for secondary schools, all second level schools should provide physical education as part of the curriculum. The syllabuses have been developed on the basis of a time allocation of two hours per week.

As Deputies will be aware, this Government has worked hard to improve the opportunities for young people to get physical exercise both in school and in their local communities. There have been a number of positive developments in relation to physical education, PE, in schools in recent years.

We have funded the provision of PE, general purpose and outdoor play facilities as part of the school building and modernisation programme. Over €2 billion has been provided for school building projects since 2002, while a further €4.5 billion will be invested under the new national development plan. We have put in place new curricula for PE in primary schools and at junior certificate level and last year primary schools received €2,000 each in PE equipment grants at a total cost of €6.5 million. A similar grant is on the way for second level schools.

We believe that PE is an important part of the school curriculum and that every child should get the opportunity to exercise at school. However, we are also conscious of the fact that children spend just 20% of their waking hours at school and so their level of physical activity during the rest of the week is just as important.

This Government's investment in community sports facilities has been unparalleled. Since 1998 almost €470 million has been allocated to over 5,000 sports capital projects and a great many of the new facilities built by this Government are used by children and young people. In 1997 the annual sports budget was €17 million. This year it is €297 million and I think that speaks volumes for our commitment.

Through an increased focus on exercise in school and in the community, we are working to encourage more children and young people to get active. Indeed, the State of the Nation's Children report, recently published by the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Brian Lenihan, found that children in Ireland are doing well on physical activity, ranking second across 32 World Health Organisation countries in being physically active for at least four hours per week.

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