Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contribution and for their support for the Bill. I have listened with interest to the input of Deputies on all sides. The various issues raised will be considered further in the Department, as the Bill makes its way through the Houses. I believe that the merging of the council and the authority in one new body is a positive move for the development of Irish sport. They already work closely together and enjoy an excellent working relationship. We are bringing together the expertise of two bodies which have delivered a lot for sport in recent years. I am confident that the good work that is being done for Irish sport will continue into the future under the new Sport Ireland structure.

This is turning out to be another great year for Irish sport. I congratulate all our athletes and teams who have competed at international events this year and who have done us proud. This is an exciting time for sport and there is much to look forward to in the coming years.

The announcement by UEFA that Dublin will be a host city for the Euro 2020 is great news for Ireland. We can look forward to the excitement of a major international tournament here with all the benefit that will flow from the massive TV coverage throughout the world. I again thank everybody who was involved in preparing Ireland’s bid. Everyone put on the green jersey and worked together on our bid to ensure that this prize could be delivered for Dublin and for Ireland.

Deputies spoke about the need to increase participation and to get more young people involved in sport. Events such as Euro 2020 have the potential to encourage more young people to get involved in sport. It will be a great opportunity for them to see some of the best that European football has to offer and I hope it will inspire them to get involved in sport. The 2016 Rio Olympics are coming up and I am delighted that already athletes and teams have qualified. I congratulate our equestrian events team and our sailors on qualifying recently. I wish the best of luck to all our athletes in their preparation for Rio.

I will now deal with some of the issues raised during the Second Stage debate. Deputy Dooley referred to section 9, dealing with consultants and advisers. I can assure the Deputy that there is no intention that Sport Ireland will spend large sums of money on consultants. In some cases consultants will be required and section 9 allows Sport Ireland to engage consultants when that is necessary. This might be for expert services to do for example with sports science and medicine. In all cases, however, Sport Ireland will comply with Government guidelines on engaging consultants.

Some Deputies also mentioned the need for a national sport policy. We are working hard on preparing a policy, and I hope it will be ready soon. Among other things, the policy will address the important question of where the focus should be for investment in sport. Deputy McClellan mentioned women in sport. I agree that it is important that women are represented in sport. I will certainly ask Sport Ireland to continue to fund the women in sports programme and to deliver strategies for increasing participation by women and girls.

Deputies also mentioned cross-Border co-operation in sport. The Irish Sports Council already works very closely with Sport Northern Ireland. I am confident this co-operation will continue under Sport Ireland. Several Deputies mentioned the need to provide support and advice to clubs to help them make their applications for capital grants. We are always open to considering how to improve the way we do things in the Department. I will certainly ask my officials to consider this again for any new round of the sports capital programme.

While I welcome Deputy Dooley's positive comments on the Sport Ireland Bill, I cannot understand his anxiety to revert to the old Fianna Fáil way of delivering sports capital grants. Since coming into office I have given sports capital funding pro rata. I am very proud of that. Every commentator in the media and everywhere else has acknowledged that this was done fairly. Counties such as Clare, Deputy Dooley's home county, have gained since I came into office because I loaded money into counties such as Clare which had done badly in the last round of the sports capital programme. I cannot understand how he would want us to go back to the old Fianna Fáil way by which Donegal, Kerry and Waterford got big funding because the Ministers came from those counties. That is not how it should be done and that is not how it will be done. I hope Fianna Fáil is not saying that if it gets back into power it will do this again.

Deputy Wallace asked about two clubs in Wexford which lodged invalid applications. How could I allocate funding to invalid clubs? It would be like the penalty points situation. Every Deputy from every county and every party would tell me that I took invalid applications and made them valid. That will not happen. A total of 36% of applications in the last round were invalid, but 64% were valid. I am sure Deputy Wallace is not saying that I should give funds to the 36% that were not valid. I could not do that.

We have a very small team in Killarney. People think we have a big staff in Dublin and in Killarney. We do not. When I open clubs and facilities throughout the country that the sports capital programme has supported, many pay tribute to the staff in Killarney and I agree with them. I thank the staff for the way they work and their co-operation with everybody who made applications in the last round. We did make things easier. We had it on computer yet we had many difficulties with invalid applications.

I will give an example. I know a club that did not have its title in order when the first round came in. When they sent it in the second time around, the title was not in order again. They wanted to blame Deputies, councillors and my officials in Killarney for it. The application was invalid the first time and again the second time. No invalid application will be dealt with in my reign as Minister of State with responsibility for sport.

Many Deputies spoke about the sports capital programme, which has been a lifeline for many clubs that have used the funding very well. I compliment these clubs on the way they are able to raise money.

Many other issues were raised in relation to the Bill. I agree with what Deputy Joan Collins said about young people who are honoured to be called to represent this country abroad in sporting events but do not have the money or resources to enable them to do so because of family circumstances. I intend to get the national governing bodies and the Irish Sports Council to try to look at this. I have received a number of letters on this issue throughout my tenure as Minister of State. Parents have written to me to say that their son or daughter has been picked for Ireland, but they do not have the resources to send him or her abroad. No competitor should be prevented from representing our country because his or her family does not have enough resources. It is something we need to look at.

I thank all the people who contributed to the debate on this Bill for their kind comments. I will take up many of the issues that Deputies have raised when we consider this legislation further on Committee Stage. As Deputy Wall said earlier, Irish people love their sport. It does not matter what sport it is. That is why I am glad the sports capital programme that has been in place for the last two years is to continue. I hope the Government sees fit to provide the funding for another round of the programme. I will talk to the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Howlin, to make sure they see the benefits to rural and urban Ireland of putting that funding in place.

Some very fine speeches were made by the various contributors. My officials have taken note of many of the good ideas that were outlined during the debate. We will examine what has been proposed. I hope we can assist and help along the way. I ask any Deputy who intends to bring forward amendments to this Bill to give the departmental officials sight of those amendments at an early stage in order that, where possible and appropriate, the amendments can be considered on their merits rather than being rejected for technical reasons or because there was insufficient time to consider them fully. I ask Deputies to submit their amendments quickly. We will have a look at them, and if there is anything worth pursuing we will certainly do so. I thank everyone who spoke for contributing to the debate. I also thank my officials in Killarney and in the headquarters of the Department.

Sport is important to this country and its people. This Bill will lead to the amalgamation of two organisations in line with Government policy. There will be no job losses. I reiterate that both of these bodies have very small teams working for them. I intend to look to get more staff into Killarney in the future. I hope to get more staff for the new body as well. I thank everyone who spoke for their passion for sport and for their kind comments. I am delighted this legislation is being supported by all sides. I commend the Bill to the House.

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