Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish I could keep in line with the thinking on the Government side with regard to the wording of the motion which commends the Government for its support. Perhaps the Government and the Minister of State lend support in theory, but the evidence suggests otherwise. It is sad, in a way, that we should be debating this issue and the Government is using it as an opportunity to commend itself without in any way acknowledging deficiencies in the area, other than that times are hard. As often happens with international and national sports events, politicians - I include myself in that group - are seen to rush to the flag to be identified in the local newspapers as being supportive, but when the hoopla dies down and life carries on, reality sets in. The reality is that ten years after the Special Olympics, the movement has warned that it faces stark choices because of cuts in Government spending.

The organisation's chief executive, Mr. Matt English, has indicated that funding from the State has been cut by almost 60% since 2008 and decreased funding is no longer sustainable. He has indicated that although clubs will not have to be closed down in the next year, the organisation will have to make stark choices unless funding is reinstated. The reality is that as a result of Special Olympics, the number of clubs increased exponentially as a result of the extraordinary publicity generated from the games. There are now 400 Special Olympics clubs, double the number in 2003, and they offer more supports and competition opportunities for people with an intellectual disability across the island, with over 5,500 new athletes participating weekly. The volunteer force has swelled from 2,000 in 2003 to 25,000 active volunteers today. That is an impressive number of people who will also be voting.

It costs approximately €24 million to run Special Olympics in a four year cycle, an average of €6 million per year. In 2008 Mr. English stated the organisation received €3 million, 50% of the cost of running the programme, which was a good figure at the time and in keeping with the support the Government would traditionally give to national organisations, especially those involved in organising international events or participating in international events such as the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. However, by this year, the funding had decreased to €1.2 million, approximately 20% of the cost of running the programme. Clearly, that level is not sustainable as it is not possible for the organisation to raise the balance from the public. Everybody in the House knows that as a result of the economic recession, most charitable organisations are already giving evidence that their annual collections are down. The Irish Cancer Society suffered much rain on Daffodil Day and is feeling the impact of a severe drop in public subscriptions.

Some €1.2 billion of the health budget is directed towards people with disabilities, but Special Olympics Ireland does not receive anything from that pot, which is extraordinary. The Minister of State has spoken, but at some point she might explain why, out of the €1.2 billion in the health budget, Special Olympics Ireland gets nothing.