Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—criticising the €7 million reduction in funding under the Sports Capital Programme for 2005, a reduction of 13% on last year;

—disappointed at the obvious regional disparity and inequity in the manner in which monies are allocated under the Sports Capital Programme;

—condemning the fact that even though the National Aquatic Centre cost more than €60 million, an independent report concluded that the roof did not comply with the normal design codes or building regulations;

—highlighting the numerous reports of other serious structural problems at the National Aquatic Centre;

—deploring the lack of basic sports facilities throughout the country, and at many primary and secondary schools;

—acknowledging that even though 300,000 of our children are overweight or obese the provision of physical education facilities at our schools has been totally neglected and constitutes a tiny fraction of the capital budget;

—noting the OECD findings which showed conclusively that Ireland ranks as one of the lowest in the OECD in terms of funding and support for physical education and that only 4% of school time is allocated to physical education compared to 9% in other OECD countries;

—condemning the scrapping by this Government of grants for purchasing school sports equipment;

—concerned that there is a far lower participation in sport by women than by men, even though research has clearly shown that weight-bearing physical exercise is a strong preventative measure in the incidence of certain medical conditions, like osteoporosis, which particularly affect women;

calls on the Government to:

—ensure that the Sports Capital Programme monies, which are raised by all of us through the National Lottery, are administered by the Irish Sports Council and not by the Government;

—undertake to provide all future national sports infrastructure on time, on budget and to the highest standard so that the costly and shambolic delivery of the National Aquatic Centre will not be repeated;

—give urgent priority to the development of physical education facilities, and the purchasing of sporting equipment, in primary and secondary schools;

—devote greater school time to physical education and sporting activities, and make PE compulsory at both Junior and Senior cycles in second level education;

—adopt the Brighton Principles as a matter of priority, which aim to ensure equity and equality in sport; and

—raise the profile of the health benefits of sport for women with special reference to osteoporosis and other ailments."

I listened to Senator Kieran Phelan speak about the wonderful facility in Croke Park and I join him in congratulating the GAA authorities there. We in Roscommon, just like the people of Laois, do not see Croke Park often enough, certainly not as often as the people from Kerry, the Minister's county. We live in hope.

The Government has invested in Croke Park but in recent years its involvement has not been the best. Sport and politics should be kept separate. Some years ago, the Taoiseach interfered with a democratic process, which was not helpful towards opening up Croke Park to other sports at the time. That is in the past and Croke Park has been opened up. I look forward to the day when Roy Keane or any rugby player will play there. I am sure other Senators join me in this.

In 2004 the sports capital allocation was €61 million. The announcement of €54 million for this year is a significant reduction of €7 million, down almost 13% on 2004. This is disappointing for sporting organisations that have once again been passed over for funding. I appreciate that many of the sporting organisations were happy with the allocations but some were passed over.

The money invested in the National Aquatic Centre was not well spent. The facility, which cost €62 million, leaks, lost large parts of its roof soon after opening and was closed as a result for many months. A report commissioned by the OPW confirmed that damage to the roof was caused by the failure of elements within the roof assembly. Some 11 pages of an independent engineering report into the structural soundness of the facility identified 126 cracks in the pool walls and a leakage of 50 million litres. Media eyewitnesses and reports from inside the facility confirm the existence of leaks, cracks in the floor and visible corrosion on walls and metal surfaces. That is not money well spent. We must spend the taxpayers' hard-earned money better in the future.

I am very concerned that 300,000 Irish children are overweight or obese. Many problems, including the obvious health problems, result from childhood obesity. I refer, for example, to issues like a lack of self-esteem and an increase in bullying. The increase in obesity among children constitutes a time bomb in our health services. I do not believe the Government is doing enough to tackle the serious issue of obesity among adults and school children. If one examines the records of the Department of Education and Science to ascertain the percentage of its capital expenditure budget that is spent on sport and physical education halls, one will learn that PE has been totally neglected. The consequences of that neglect are becoming evident as the percentage of schoolchildren who are obese increases. Just €3 million of the €154 million that was spent by the Department of Education and Science on capital projects in 2000 was spent on PE halls. While the amount of money spent on PE halls had increased to €7 million by 2002, that figure was halved in 2003 and had decreased to just 0.5% of the Department's capital budget by 2004. I do not think the Government is doing enough to tackle the problem of obesity among schoolchildren. The Government needs to offer more support to those who are tackling such problems.

I would like to speak about the problems caused by the tuck shops and vending machines found in many schools throughout the country. I suggest that such problems are linked to the lack of funds in many schools. The finances of many schools are in such a poor state that they need the commission that accrues to them from such shops and machines. We need to tackle this issue by replacing vending machines with facilities which offer healthier alternatives. I know of a company that is going to schools to install vending machines which sell water. The schools agree to the installation of such machines not because they offer students a healthy product, but because the schools can earn a percentage of the money that is put into the machines. They can earn a similar percentage by selling certain sugar-based branded products which cause obesity. I repeat that we need to work together to make a serious effort to tackle obesity among school-going children.

It is wrong that women in sport do not receive the same level of recognition or funding as their male counterparts. National and international research reveals that women have a lower level of participation in sport and other recreational activities. Those women who do participate in sport are more likely than men to drop out of their sporting activities. Although there are many good sports centres in Ireland, the positive phenomenon of women engaging in exercise elsewhere continues to be noticeable. If one drives along any country road tonight, one will notice women, and sometimes men, walking along the roads. I do not think such people like to walk along country roads, but they have no choice other than to do so because facilities which are appropriate to their needs do not exist. We should ensure that new bypasses which are built near urban areas cater for the needs of such people. When a bypass was built around my home town, no footpaths were constructed and no public lighting was developed. The women and fellows who like to walk along bypasses often have to do so without the assistance of footpaths or lighting. Agencies like the local authorities, the National Roads Authority and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism should work together to help people to get fit by ensuring that provision is made for footpaths and lighting when new bypasses are being built.

The sports capital programme should be administered by the Irish Sports Council, thereby taking decisions on allocations to sporting bodies out of the realm of political influence. The Arts Council is responsible for managing arts funding and the Heritage Council is responsible for decisions on the heritage grants programme. The Irish Sports Council should be responsible for the management of the sports capital programme.