Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Task Force was established in August 2006 to ensure Ireland can identify and maximise the complete range of opportunities arising from our proximity to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012. The task force included experts from the sport, tourism, cultural and business sectors and was supported by staff within my Department.

The task force report makes a number of recommendations arising from an audit carried out of high quality sports facilities in Ireland and the findings of a report by Indecon International Economic Consultants on the economic evaluation of the benefit to the island of Ireland of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The report highlights the opportunities for Ireland from the London 2012 Games in the sport, tourism, cultural and business sectors. On the sporting side the report puts forward proposals for investment in sports facilities which would increase our attractiveness as a training destination for Olympic teams in the lead up and during the games. I understand that inquiries have already been made about the availability of sports facilities here for some Olympic teams, for example, the Australian team is interested in using the swimming facilities in the aquacentre in Abbottstown.

Both the University of Limerick and University College Dublin have received capital funding from my Department in recent years towards the development of sports facilities. In 2006, my Department allocated €1 million towards phase 1 of the sports facilities development at the University of Limerick, particularly with a view to the potential usage of the university as a centre for teams preparing for the London 2012 Olympics. Previous funding to the university sports complex since 1998 was in the form of a €7.55 million grant for the construction of the national 50 metre swimming pool.

The quality of the facilities at the University of Limerick is amazing and I urge colleagues to visit them. The number of elite athletes from all over the world who come to Limerick is incredible. I was surprised by the quality of the staff, which is at the high end of excellence in world sport, and the standard of the facilities. The swimming facilities and the indoor arena, etc., are of the highest international quality and we should be proud of them. I congratulate the University of Limerick on the way it has managed the facilities and on its staff.

The Irish Sports Council, ISC, also provides annual funding to Coaching Ireland, formerly the National Coaching and Training Centre, which is located at the University of Limerick. Coaching Ireland has an all-island remit to lead the development of coaching in Ireland and in 2008 received €1.9 million from the ISC for coaching services, player athlete services and corporate services.

In recent years, the Department has also allocated over €1.3 million in capital grants to the UCD sports department towards the development of its sports facilities. In addition, the national hockey arena, which is located at UCD, was developed with Government funding to the value of €1.29 million.

I am considering the implementation of the recommendations of the task force report. I do not deny, however, that the current economic situation has had an impact on the situation.

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