Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if funding has been included in the 2009 capital budget to fund the investment recommended for the University of Limerick and University College Dublin in the consultant's report on the potential of the 2012 Olympics for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41286/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I agree the University of Limerick has a wonderful facility, which has been successful as far as it goes. For that reason, it is a venue that is worth further investment. However, what is the point in having a report such as the Indecon report and doing nothing on foot of it? The next Olympic Games are to be held in 2012 and teams are now booking where they will train.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Not yet.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister said he had already had inquiries about Abbottstown. Decisions will be made in the next year or two about where teams will go and they will not book into a place that has not yet been built. Therefore, it is time for the Minister to make up his mind. Has there, for example, been a response to the University of Limerick proposal for the project that would cost €28 million, half of which the university would put up itself? Has the Minister done anything with regard to the recommendations of the Indecon report, particularly the proposal from Limerick? Given we are not going to build in Abbottstown and there will be no improvement in facilities there, will there be compensatory investment in either UCD or the University of Limerick as recommended by the report?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should not put words in my mouth. I have not said that we are not going to build in Abbottstown. I have been more than fair in my effort to tell the Deputy precisely what I am going to do. I have nominated the particular facilities that I see as a priority to be built at Abbottstown. The proposals for all of these facilities are only going to planning and everything depends on getting planning permission. We do not know how long that process will take. I could not have moved more quickly than I have at this stage.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Why not? This was announced two years ago.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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On account of the design work. There is a full design team working on this and it is employed and paid to work these things out and to get them right. It has told me it has the process completed and intends to seek planning permission before the end of the year.

As a matter of interest for the Deputy, there are significant numbers of inquiries being made for the use of facilities that are not yet built. We have an enormous amount of bookings already for the National Conference Centre, for example. It is not completed yet, but people realise it will be.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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That is because it is being built by the private sector. However, where we must depend on the Minister to make a decision, projects are not happening.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I hope to be in a position to proceed but unfortunately, although this does not affect Deputy Mitchell or the Fine Gael Party, we have a major economic crisis on our hands, nationally and internationally. I know that from Deputy Mitchell's perspective this is largely irrelevant and we are expected to find moneys under every bench in the House to fund everything we want to do. At the same time, the Fine Gael finance spokesman comes in every day and says we are spending too much money. The Deputy cannot have it every way.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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The question relates to investment in UCD and the University of Limerick. The Minister twice mentioned the swimming pool in the University of Limerick and the hockey pitches in UCD. These are great facilities, but are the other facilities considered to be world class? If the Indecon report recommends significant investment, we need to go ahead with it in order to make the facility available. I accept what the Minister says about the finances, but is it planned to try and meet the recommendation of the Indecon report?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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It is interesting that a significant number of athletes who won gold, silver or bronze medals at the most recent Olympics have participated in activities in the University of Limerick. I did not realise so many of them came to the university for training, physiotherapy, medical facilities or coaching facilities. It is recognised as one of the best in a range of areas. It has a range of facilities, not just the pool. It has a huge indoor arena and four basketball courts. The All-Blacks trained there the other day. I should have tripped a few of them on Monday and perhaps we might have got over the hump last night. What an occasion the match in Thomond Park was last night.

I agree we could do more. There is no question but that we want to do more and will do so. Currently, I am trying to maximise what I can do with very limited resources. That is where I am at in terms of the process.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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The Minister's comment on athletes coming from other countries is very interesting. If we have such good facilities, will the Minister look at the gap that exists with regard to Ireland not achieving as many medals as we would like at the Olympics? If we have the capital and the facilities, what is missing?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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We need more facilities. However, even if we had all the facilities in the world, I could not say we would win medals. Much of it comes down to the constant level of international competition and of elite coaching needed for many of the different disciplines. I was told a story in Beijing that demonstrates this. The Chinese decided they wanted to win a cycling medal in the velodrome in China. They sent a 17 year old girl to Switzerland for four years where she did nothing but learn her craft, picking up French and English along the way. She won a medal. That is the type of dedication that is needed.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I have seen the facilities in the University of Limerick and I agree they are excellent. However, does the Minister not think there is too much emphasis nowadays on centres of excellence and high performance? The majority of young people feel excluded and perhaps we should look at the idea of increasing young people's participation in a range of sports. Currently, the emphasis is on winning at all costs and training the top 20%, whereas 80% of people involved in sports are of average ability. Many of these people do not get the opportunity to use or are excluded from these top class facilities. Does the Minister have any plans to increase participation in sport by many young people?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Over the past while we have invested almost €800 million into the type of facilities the Deputy suggests, into local small clubs, etc., for many different sports throughout the country. This has had a huge impact. The ESRI recently published a report which identified two areas in sport that need attention, young women and disadvantaged children. There is significant work to be done in these areas.

I commend local sports programmes such as those the FAI are running with local authorities. These are successful and worthwhile and are the type of programmes we need to do in all sports areas. While the focus of the questions today has been on major facilities, we should remember that if we build Abbottstown, which we need, Sweden has 22 such facilities. I will not mention what Germany, France and the UK have. We need such high-end facilities for all athletes to aspire to, whatever their sport or discipline and we should have them. This is the reason Abbotstown is very important——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I wish to take a final question.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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——as is the University of Limerick, and having a regional structure in respect of such facilities is crucial, along with, as the Deputy correctly noted, issues regarding disadvantage and young children in sport.