Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Commencement Matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. I thank the Senator for raising it, as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the current position on the provision of physical education facilities in post-primary schools.

The Department of Education and Skills fully recognises the key role of physical exercise within the school environment and continues to respond to the need to improve physical education facilities for all pupils attending schools within the constraints of the available funding. I also advise the Senator that the physical education curriculum has been designed on the basis that facilities in schools may vary. For example, many primary schools have a general purpose room, while almost all schools have outdoor play areas which are used to teach different aspects of the physical education programme. There is a similar situation at second level in the case of sports halls and outdoor facilities. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. The provision of play space where site conditions and circumstances allow is one of the issues considered in the architectural design of new schools and major extensions. The Department's design guidelines for schools include guidance on the provision of physical education halls, general purpose rooms and outdoor hard play areas such as basketball courts.

The Senator will appreciate that in assessing applications from schools for funding for physical education hall facilities the Department needs to balance such requests in priority terms against the critical need to provide essential classroom accommodation, particularly in areas of demographic growth. In view of the constraints on available funding imposed by the need to provide such accommodation, the Department is not in a position at this time to consider an initiative as proposed by the Senator.

However, I wish to advise her that the number of schools with general purpose rooms and physical education halls is increasing all the time, while practically all schools have outside exercise space such as basketball and tennis courts and playing fields. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including public parks, playing fields and swimming pools.

The facilities that schools have on site are just part of the picture because they may also have access to excellent local sports facilities, which have been greatly expanded and improved through funding from the Government's sports capital programme in recent years. In that regard, the Department has liaised with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on school applications for sporting facilities and with local authorities on shared school and community facilities where this is possible to achieve. The value of a cross-departmental approach in enhancing the contribution made by physical exercise in the promotion of healthy lifestyles has long been recognised by the Department.

In that regard, the Department is currently finalising guidance about measures to promote healthy lifestyles in consultation with the Department of Health and the HSE. This guidance will encompass measures to promote healthy eating, healthy vending and the promotion of physical education and physical activity. This guidance will be targeted in the first instance at post-primary schools and similar guidance will issue subsequently to primary schools. The Department is also participating in the cross-departmental group that is responsible for developing the national physical activity plan. This group, which is co-chaired by the Department of Health and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, is currently finalising a national plan containing a range of measures to promote physical activity across society, including in the education sector.

In view of the current interdepartmental co-operation on the development of healthy lifestyles, including physical education, the Minister does not propose to progress an interdepartmental scheme as proposed by the Senator. I thank her for allowing me the opportunity to clarify the current position in relation to physical education facilities in post-primary schools.

The Senator made a point on young women in secondary school which hit home for me given on my own experience in this area. I served on VECs and education and training boards for more than ten years. During that period I read numerous reports which outlined stark decreases in participation rates among this cohort, even where excellent facilities were available. The decrease was most noticeable after first year in secondary school but the numbers dropped constantly despite efforts to promote physical activities. While programmes worked for a short period, the fall off would subsequently recur. We tend to focus on young men and women who are very interested in sports or have individual qualities that allow their skills to be developed but the problems often arise in the group that does not join anything. This issue requires further investigation by the Departments of Health and Education and Science. I will relay the Senator's comments to the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, when I speak to her this afternoon or early tomorrow.