John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

——so that by the end of the year 2036, they will equal Kerry's record of 33 senior titles. In that respect, I understand two or three fellows from Tyrone were in Waterville, County Kerry last week, regaling the barman in a local hotel as to how they beat Kerry and how they would continue to do so, and advising him as to how Kerry should approach all-Ireland football titles in the future. Late in the night the barman gave one of the Tyrone men his change. Looking at the change, the Tyrone man said: "Hold on a minute. That's not change. It's a medal." The barman replied: "Give me that back. It happens all the time around here. It's an all-Ireland senior football medal."

Ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeachas a ghabháil le Tír Eoghain, ceann de na foirne is fearr dá bhfaca mé i bPáirc an Chrócaigh. It was great to see Tyrone, from the land of the great O'Neill, win the all-Ireland title in such a splendid fashion, even if it was at my county's expense on this occasion.

Just a week ago the Economic and Social Research Institute, commissioned by the Irish Sports Council, published a report, The Social and Economic Value of Sport in Ireland. This study addresses a vital gap in our knowledge in terms of measuring the impact and importance of sport in Ireland. The Government has always been cognisant of the social impact of sport and its effect on the health and well-being of the nation. For that reason it was the first Government to recognise that by putting a Minister at the Cabinet table in 1997, sport would truly come to the fore. The ESRI report does not merely indicate a social impact but concludes that sport is the major contributor to social capital in Ireland today. This conclusion is largely based on the volunteer contribution to sport, with three people engaged in support activities to every four actively participating. Statistically, an extraordinary figure of 400,000 people, or 15% of the population, offer their services in a voluntary way to sport. Given the genuine concerns expressed in many quarters about the nature of modern Celtic tiger Ireland, this statistic offers hope and assurance about the nature of our country.

The report puts a total economic value on sport in this country for the first time ever — it is estimated at €1.4 billion a year. The volunteer sector, if all involved were paid even at the minimum wage level, is valued at €267 million a year, subscriptions to sports clubs are valued at €200 million a year, the costs of playing sport for participants is estimated at €413 million a year and the revenue generated by attendance at sporting events estimated at €525 million a year. The total value of €1.4 billion is a significant amount by any standards even within the dynamic economic environment of modern Ireland. As the report points out, this is a modest estimate, not including every possible impact from all aspects of sporting life, such as sports tourism, which it tentatively values at €350 million.

The Government spent the past eight years addressing what only now can be seen as neglect of the sector. My budget for sport this year is over €149 million, compared with an amount of just €17.4 million in 1997. By the end of 2005, the Government spend on sport since 1997 will be €740 million. This hugely increased investment in sport has resulted in a considerably enhanced range and quality of programmes and top class facilities, from national level to local community clubs and centres throughout the country.

The Government's support for sport has not just been a matter of simply making more money available. Improvements have had to be made in a strategic way. The establishment in 1999 of the Irish Sports Council as the statutory body with responsibility for the organisation and development of sport was a vital leap forward in this regard. The Government is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure on which the Sports Council's strategy, based on the three pillars of participation, performance and excellence, can be delivered. The budget for the Irish Sports Council has increased from €13.2 million in 2000, its first full year of operation, to €34.4 million in 2005. In all, the council has received almost €158 million since its inception. Additional funding in 2005 included €1.5 million for an initiative being taken to preserve and develop the games of hurling and camogie on a nationwide basis, €1 million to support initiatives aimed at the development of Gaelic games in Dublin and €750,000 to commence programmes which attract women into sport.

The foundation for the much-improved sporting infrastructure of the country under the Government has been the sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department. In all, a total of €386 million in sports capital funding has been allocated to just over 4,900 projects from 1998 to the present. In terms of value for money to society, the sports capital programme as operated since 1997 is undoubtedly one of the best schemes operated by the State. The majority of the projects funded under the sports capital programme are at local level where the massive and often unheralded efforts of the volunteers keeping clubs and projects afloat received the boost of funding for new or improved facilities. This support has been vital and will be even more so in the future in attempting to ensure that the extraordinary level of volunteerism in Irish sport, as identified by the new ESRI report and to which I referred earlier, can be maintained. An important and strategic feature of sports capital funding is that the local and grassroots funding is complemented for regional and multi-sport projects and for projects at national level, particularly those required by the national governing bodies of sport, many of which are required for international competition.

Significant levels of sports capital funding has been provided for a number of municipal and multi-sport centres for the general public on a regional basis throughout the country. These centres are ideal for family-oriented sport and exercise, are particularly important for those people who are not affiliated to a specific sports club and would often provide a combination of indoor sports halls and, in some cases, swimming pools, leisure centres and outdoor facilities such as all-weather pitches. Examples of such facilities which have been allocated sports capital funding include the Finglas sports centre, lrishtown stadium in Ringsend, Sportslink in Santry and the DFRC in Dundrum; Waterford regional sports centre; Duneske leisure centre in Cahir; Killarney leisure centre; Lees Road sports centre, Ennis; Galway regional sports centre; Trim recreational needs centre; Ballina sports centre; Letterkenny sports centre; Ballywaltrim centre, Bray; Athlone regional sports centre; and Leisurelink centre, Navan.