Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the establishment of a new body which will replace the Irish Sports Council, ISC, and the National Sports Campus Development Authority, NSCDA, and the merger of their functions into a single identity to be established as Sport Éireann or Sport Ireland.

The establishment of Sport Ireland will result in a more streamlined organisation for the development of sport and the implementation of sports policy. This Bill also designates Sport Ireland as the national anti-doping organisation and details its competencies and responsibilities with regard to its functions, particularly in respect of data protection.

The Irish Sports Council was established on 1 July 1999 as a statutory agency by the Irish Sports Council Act 1999. In particular, the functions of the council are encouraging the promotion, development and co-ordination of competitive sport; developing strategies for increasing participation in recreational sport; facilitating good standards of conduct and fair play in both competitive and recreational sport; combatting doping in sport, including testing, through a dedicated committee of the ISC; initiating and encouraging research concerning competitive or recreational sport and facilitating research and disseminating information concerning competitive or recreational sport. “Competitive sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and at obtaining improved results in competition at all levels; “recreational sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or regular participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being and at forming social relationships.

The NSCDA was established on 1 January 2007. The principal functions of the authority are to develop a sports campus at Abbotstown, County Dublin; furnish and equip the sports campus; manage, operate and maintain the sports campus and encourage and promote the use of the sports campus by professional and amateur sports people and members of the public. The day-to-day operations of the approximately 500-acre sports campus and Morton Stadium, Santry and related facilities are managed by NSCDA (Operations) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the NSCDA. Several sporting organisations are located on the campus, including the National Aquatic Centre, the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, the Irish Institute of Sport and 20 other national governing bodies.

The merger of the ISC and the NSCDA is part of the Government’s programme for the rationalisation of State agencies and is based on five central themes: placing customer services at the core of everything we do; maximising new and innovative service-delivery channels; radically reducing our costs to drive better value for money; leading, organising and working in new ways; and a strong focus on implementation and delivery.

Sport Ireland will appoint a chief executive officer with the approval of the Minister. The chief executive must, along with carrying out necessary functions of the position provide information as requested by the Minister regarding his or her performance of these functions and the implementation of the Minister’s policies and priorities. The chief executive cannot be a member of the board of Sport Ireland but may attend and speak at and advise board and committee meetings.

As rapporteur to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on childhood obesity, I believe that sport in schools can play its part. Schools should ensure that all children participate in a minimum of 30 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity during the school day. This includes time spent being active in physical education, PE, classes. Schools should ensure that PE is taught by certified and highly qualified PE teachers at all levels. Montessori schools and crèches should provide children with at least 30 minutes' break time during each school day to run about and play, free from restriction.

Although sports provide a portion of the student population with a significant amount of physical activity, the remainder of the students may be very sedentary and represent those who most need greater amounts of physical activity. In large schools, access to sports facilities may be limited to a small percentage of the student body. Most athletic teams are of similar size and although large schools may offer more sports than small ones, the total number of students who can be served does not increase in proportion to enrolment. If, for example, a secondary school with 200 or more 14 or 15 year olds focuses on one type of sport, only the elite of perhaps 20 students will make the panel for the team in that age category. The other 180 children who are rejected by the elitist and competitive nature of the performance-centred system will be left behind. Not every child can excel at, or even wants to participate in, sports such as football, rugby or basketball. Greater effort should be put into introducing new sports in schools, such as badminton, squash, handball, indoor climbing or gymnastics. The emphasis should be on participation rather than competition. Every one of these sports has the potential to stimulate physical activity and increase social activity centred on sport and introduce impressionable minds to valuable life skills such as team work, comradeship and dealing with the successes and disappointments of competitions. No child should be left behind through lack of opportunity or ability. There is a sport for everyone and we should do more to ensure that young people can find their niche when it comes to developing an interest in sport.

It makes sense that the development of Irish sport would be overseen by one central organisation. I am pleased that this Bill will take into account the substantial developments in the area of doping. Ireland has an extensive national anti-doping programme which, along with anti-doping rules, will underpin Sport Ireland.

As an avid sports fan and fitness enthusiast, I believe wholeheartedly that positioning sport at the centre of Irish life is the key to making a Ireland a healthier place. We need to focus on fitness levels rather than the number of weighing scales as an indicator of healthy living, and organisations such as Sport Ireland are important in promoting this ideal.

Research published recently by the Irish Society for Rheumatology, ISR, has shown that inter-county Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA, players with a higher lean muscle mass are less likely to sustain injuries. We may not all play sport at the higher levels of the GAA or the organisations under Sport Ireland but the message remains the same that if one exercises and increases one’s muscle mass, one is less likely to suffer from aches and pains.

If one exercises and increases one's muscle mass, one is less likely to suffer from aches and pains.

I thank the Minister of State for the allocation of the capital sports grants in County Louth. I have no complaints at all. Every organisation, including those involved in GAA, rugby and soccer, got something from the Minister of State. The people of the county would like to say "thanks very much". The only big problem they have now is trying to find a Gaelic football manager. I hope the Louth county board gets the right man over the next few weeks. It is very important that the GAA and all other sports in County Louth are going well. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I wish the Minister of State the very best. As he knows, all the people in Louth are fully behind him.

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