Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. A fundamental aim of the Government’s national sports policy is to increase the levels of participation in sport and physical activity across the population, with a specific focus on less represented groups, including women and girls. A great deal of good progress is being made, not just in increasing participation by women and girls, but also in the important areas of leadership and management roles in sport.

A number of new policies have been introduced by the Minister, Deputy Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, in addition to significant funding provided under our women in sport programme. The Minister and Minister of State have also announced a new similar access requirement, which ensures that public funding will only go towards the development of sports facilities that provide similar access to women and men.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely, the sports capital and equipment programme, SCEP, and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The SCEP is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreational facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. The LSSIF provides support for larger sports facility projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP. The LSSIF is currently open for applications, with a deadline of 1 July, which is next week.

Under the latest round of the sports capital and equipment programme, changes were introduced to make clear that applications for local projects that did not provide access to its facilities on similar terms for men and women would not be eligible for funding. Applicants will also be ineligible for funding if they do not confirm in writing that they are in compliance with the provisions of the Equal Status Acts.

On 26 April, the Minister and Minister of State opened a new €120 million round of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. Applications under this fund remain open. Under the new round, a similar access requirement was introduced. The similar access requirement means that recipients of LSSIF funding must accommodate the needs of women and men on a similar basis with respect to accessing the facilities that have been allocated public funding.Any organisation in receipt of LSSIF funding must have a similar access policy in place and publish it. The Minster, Deputy Martin and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, have also confirmed that a record €250 million is being made available under this round of the sports capital and equipment programme. This figure represents a 50% increase in funding compared with the previous round of the programme in 2020. Applications for capital allocations under this round of the programme are currently being assessed, which includes a review of the applicants' provisions with regard to similar access. It is expected the capital allocations under the programme will be announced by autumn.

Addressing women's participation at all levels of sport is an important element of the national sports policy. Through the work of Sport Ireland, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is committed to increasing women's sustained involvement in sport as coaches, volunteers, club members, athletes, advocates, leaders and participants from grassroots to the podium. The Women in Sport funding programme has been in place since 2005, and since then more than €30 million has been invested through the national governing bodies, NGBs, of sport and the local sports partnerships. This supports the Government's vision for women in sport as one where women have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential while enjoying a lifelong involvement in sport. In 2023, Government funding of €2.7 million was invested in the Women in Sport programme, and in budget 2024 there was a significant increase in funding, which will see a record €4 million invested in the programme. The increased funding for Women in Sport in 2024 will support sporting organisations to put programmes in place to increase women's participation in their sports and assist in achieving our aim of equal participation by 2027. Sport Ireland's funding guidelines for our Women in Sport programme also continues to encourage organisations to develop programmes and initiatives focused on key areas outlined in Sport Ireland's policy on women in sport, namely, coaching and officiating, active participation, leadership, governance and visibility. Investment in the programme to date has enhanced all aspects of female involvement across these target areas.