Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his explanation of the Bill and general outline of the Government's position on sport. We will support the Bill, although there is nothing particularly exciting or new in it. It is bringing together two organisations that one could argue have the capacity to work closely together. It seems that much of this amalgamation is grown from a promise by Fine Gael and Labour to reduce the number of what the Minister of State referred to as quangos, although I do not like the use of that word. I know the good work done by many of these organisations, and it was a retrograde step in an effort to win the votes of the public that certain elements of both parties seemed to suggest that a myriad of agencies and organisations existed purely for their own propagation.

Notwithstanding this, it is very clear that there is an exceptional amount of good work done, and I recognise that the Minister of State has paid tribute to the people in both of these organisations. Although the organisations will no longer exist, their work should be recognised.

There is no real saving to be made as a result of the decision to amalgamate. It allows the Government to show later that it has reduced the so-called burden on the taxpayer by reducing the number of agencies. The Minister of State has yet to outline the costs associated with this Bill. The cost of this merger could be better utilised in investment in community and high-performance sports provision, but we will accept it.

My party opposes section 9 allowing for the appointment of consultants and advisers. The Government should have learnt from its escapade in the establishment of Irish Water when it led everybody to believe that by establishing Irish Water through An Bord Gáis very significant savings could be made from a transfer of information, knowledge and system techniques that would allow Irish Water get off the ground quickly and efficiently, which has not happened. The Government’s commitment to begin a bonfire of quangos is ironic in light of the debacle surrounding the establishment of Irish Water. It emerged at the beginning of 2014 that almost half the €180 million start-up cost for Irish Water, €86 million, was spent on outside consultants. The expenditure included €32 million on information technology, IT, €13 million on economic advice, €12 million on billing and registration and €8 million on support services. We were led to believe that these components were readily available in An Bord Gáis.

Fine Gael’s policy paper, Reinventing Government, promised the abolition of more than 145 State bodies and companies, including the dismantling of the HSE, and FÁS, yet the programme for Government proposes the creation of 36 new agencies, including Irish Water and NewERA. The then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, conceded in November 2011 that the Government would not in its term abolish 50 quangos. Today and for the next couple of days when this Bill passes through the House, we will be helping Fine Gael meet those targets. To do that just to tick the box is a poor use of the time of this House. We will not achieve anything by that.

The Minister of State rightly identified sport as a vital and intrinsic part of society, from the local clubs that give so much to communities throughout Ireland to the national and international success of our elite sportsmen and women, and their teams. He is right to say it is not just a question of winning medals but it is a matter of creating role models for young people, encouraging greater participation in activity-led pursuits and contributing to a healthier society. Some go on to be at the top of their game and they focus on success and achievement. For many others the emphasis is on participation. We need the elite layer of super athletes who encourage young people at an impressionable age to live healthy lives. This involves a significant saving for the State, which is often lost in the debate. The Department of Finance, too, will consider this only in terms of expenditure for this year. Making people more active in sport and encouraging them to live healthier lives achieves a great saving in the health budget. Within the health budget there is a health education programme, a component of which is spent on encouraging people to live healthier lives. Much of that should go into the sports capital programme or to the development of sporting activity because that is the way to divert people onto a more progressive path which helps them care better for themselves.

Sport in the community is the largest source of volunteering in Ireland, with more than 500,000 adults volunteering every year. The economic value of their work is estimated to be in excess of €350 million. A total of 38% of Irish people are members of an estimated 12,000 sports clubs, while 2.1 million participate regularly in sporting activities, a figure that includes approximately 800,000 people under the age of 18. I would prefer if we were to discuss a national sports policy, which the Minister of State has spoken about. We are four years into this Administration and he has said he will bring it forward in the next couple of months. I welcome that and will assist him in every way I can in that endeavour. The effort needs to go into setting out a policy position and a strategy around its implementation. Increasing the number of those under 18 participating in sport to 1 million or 1.2 million and encouraging people to continue to live healthier and better lives after the age of 18 will reduce the cost to the State of essential health care. If people lead healthier lives, they become less of a burden on the State but also on private health insurance, the cost of which is escalating. The Government should put more of its efforts into that policy framework.

I welcome the decision to bring sporting activity to Ireland. The Minister of State has done very well in that respect. It increases tourism and the more games are held here, the more participation in sport increases. When a county progresses to the All-Ireland final - unfortunately, neither Mayo nor Clare made it this year - one can see the impact on the children and young people in that county. They want to participate. I want to see the Minister of State bring forward proposals that have the capacity to increase participation. That will be a success.

There is an element of parish pump politics in this work and it is great to be the one dishing out the money. The Minister of State would probably have relished the prospect of the job until he had it and realised that he has to say "no" more often than he says "yes".

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