Dáil debates

Wednesday, 1 March 2006

Priority Questions.

Sports Facilities.

1:00 pm

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 34: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he has commenced a national audit of sports facilities here as promised in 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8513/06]

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Work has commenced on the proposed national audit of sports facilities which is being undertaken by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism as part of the development of a long-term strategic plan for the provision of such facilities. A commitment to undertaking such an audit was included in 2002 in An Agreed Programme for Government, which covers the period up to 2007. The subgroup established to oversee the detailed work of the audit comprises representatives of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Irish Sports Council, Campus Stadium Ireland and the Central Statistics Office. Expert assistance is being provided by local authorities. The subgroup has decided that the audit will be undertaken in a number of phases to speed up the availability of information. The first phase of the audit will be carried out largely within the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. It is likely that some external information technology expertise will be required to help to develop a database and map the data to be retained.

Completion of such a comprehensive exercise is a significant challenge for the Department, especially as its staff members face many other work pressures and commitments. In recognition of that fact, the inter-agency steering group decided to prioritise certain areas of work. The task being undertaken in the first phase of the project is the establishment of a record of national and regional sports facilities. That is being done immediately because we need to develop a comprehensive database on key strategic facilities as quickly as possible, not only if we are to put in place an effective long-term strategy but also if we are to maximise opportunities relating to the London Olympic Games in 2012. It is clear that many leading sporting teams are likely to decide over the next two to three years where they will locate their final pre-Olympic training camps. We will need to be in a position to promote what we have to offer by then. The first phase of the audit is likely to focus on key national facilities such as Croke Park, Lansdowne Road, the national aquatic centre, the national coaching and training centre in Limerick, Morton Stadium, the national rowing centre, the national basketball arena, the national hockey stadium, the national badminton centre and the national tennis centre. Other categories of facilities which will be included in the audit are the GAA county grounds, rugby and soccer league grounds, university sports campus facilities, sports centres run by local authorities, synthetic athletics tracks and swimming pools.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is drawing on the experience of the Northern Ireland Sports Council, which embarked on a similar exercise in recent years. It emerged clearly from the Northern Ireland experience that it is important to be able to access databases which are already in existence. Time and cost savings can be secured by accessing information held by local authorities, Departments and sports groups in advance of the start of the audit. The work being undertaken by the Department is a data-gathering exercise involving information in respect of facilities which have previously been funded under programmes administered by the Department.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

When the database has been finalised, the present state and condition of the facilities will be established by means of a detailed questionnaire that will be issued to their owners and managers. Ascertaining and mapping what is in place will be important in developing a strategic approach to future facility provision. It will help to establish the level of need that exists in the sports sector and to determine future priorities. Work on the development of a strategy for sports facilities has commenced. It is likely that the final report will cover a range of key issues such as the role of the sports capital programme, improved co-ordination and integration of funding among the various Departments and bodies, community access to school facilities, targets for the future provision of strategic facilities and other facility types and the impact of future funding. Discussions about the role of the sports capital programme and future priorities for facility provision have taken place with some of the key stakeholders. Meetings with additional stakeholders have not yet taken place. A position paper on the direction of the strategy is being prepared by the Department. I intend that a new strategy for provision of sports facilities will be in place for the 2007 sports capital programme.

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I am sure the Minister will agree that the audit of sporting facilities is important for the future direction of sporting policy here. It may determine how moneys are spent in the future. The audit will reveal that vast areas do not have adequate sporting facilities. The provision of such facilities is not balanced throughout the regions. Over the past ten years, the investment of national lottery funds in sporting facilities has been based on whether a given area was in a constituency represented by a Minister. That was not the right basis on which to make such decisions. The Minister mentioned some of the facilities which will be covered in the audit. Can he confirm that facilities which are very important for the promotion of athleticism among young people, such as playgrounds, will be included in the audit? Will recreational facilities such as parks, walkways, canals, golf courses and equestrian centres be included in it? Will the audit cover both public and private facilities? It is important that all forms of facilities should be included because there are many private facilities here. Does the audit relate to public facilities only?

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is involved in a data-gathering exercise which will integrate information on facilities funded under programmes administered by it. When the database has been finalised, the present state and condition of the facilities will be established by means of a detailed questionnaire that will be issued to their owners and managers. Deputy Deenihan suggested that there are no facilities in many regions. Since 1998, more than €390 million has been spent on the provision of sporting facilities in every city, town, village and parish. Some 4,923 facilities have received grant aid to date. Deputy Deenihan has to accept that the level of provision is significant.

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I am not denying that, but some areas are getting more than others.

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The sports capital programme gives special attention to rural areas of disadvantage covered by the CLÁR programme and urban areas of disadvantage covered by the RAPID programme. Increased levels of grant aid are allocated to such areas by my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. We are seeking to plug the gaps. The comprehensive audit of sports facilities will identify the needs and lacunae which exist. It is obvious that the Department will use the audit to determine how such gaps can be filled. I am sure the Government in office when the audit has been completed will take account of the gaps that will be identified in the audit.

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Will the audit be all-embracing? Did the Minister indicate that it will relate only to projects funded through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism?

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Surely that would not really constitute a thorough audit of this country's sporting facilities. It is critically important that all such facilities, including the facilities I have mentioned like walkways and canals, should be covered by a broad audit. Will there be an audit of the sporting facilities in our primary and post-primary schools? I recently completed a survey of all the primary schools here which found that just 23% of them have sports halls. There is a major issue here. Without a sports hall in the school, young children cannot obtain the benefits of exercise and teachers cannot carry out proper programmes in the school. The audit should be all embracing. Every facility in the country should be audited and both primary and post-primary schools should be included.

Will the local sports partnerships be involved in the audit? The local sports partnership in County Kerry carried out such an audit on the schools in the county. The audit showed that 75% of the schools in Kerry do not have a PE hall on their grounds, in spite of all the money that has been spent in the county.

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Deenihan may have misunderstood what I am trying to say. The work currently undertaken by my Department is a data gathering exercise which will integrate information on facilities that have been previously funded under programmes administered by the Department. However, the audit will also seek to identify sports facilities provided by voluntary sports organisations, local authorities and private individuals, as well as sports facilities available in schools and colleges which have benefitted from grant assistance provided by the Department of Education and Science. Recording this data and making it available in a user friendly and accessible format will be a significant undertaking. An effective way to obtain information on key national and regional facilities is to conduct the audit in two phases. The type of facilities likely to be included in phase one represent key national facilities such as GAA county grounds, rugby and soccer league grounds, university sports campus facilities, local authority run sports centres, synthetic athletic tracks and swimming pools. Phase two will include sports facilities at a local level, including those in post-primary schools.

The audit will be a comprehensive body of work which will enable policy makers to map the location of the various sports facilities throughout the country, whether they are provided through voluntary sports organisations, are privately funded or have benefitted from the assistance of public finance. A better fix on the location of existing sports facilities will obviously lead to more effective targeting in the funding of new facilities, as well as a more efficient use of financial resources.

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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What is the timeframe for this audit?

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The experience in Northern Ireland was that it took more than three years to complete the audit. The audit will take some time and there is no point in pretending otherwise. The first step was to assess what has been achieved under the Department's sports capital programme. That has been carried out.