Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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Nobody in this House doubts the importance of sport, especially of non-professional sport as it benefits households and individuals throughout the country. I also acknowledge the funding the Government has put at the disposal of sports clubs, be they GAA, other team sports such as rugby or soccer, or tennis, through pitches, facilities and so on. That is tremendously important because it builds communities and facilities for local communities and individuals. I also acknowledge how much of that funding comes from the good causes fund and moneys raised through the sale of national lottery tickets.

The main point of this Commencement matter is to talk about targeted funding. In acknowledging the amount of funding that is made available to voluntary organisations and sports clubs around the country, I would also like the Government to look at targeting that funding in a way that gets the biggest bang for the buck, as it were. The Minister of State will note I refer to para-sports, particularly the provision of sporting facilities for people either with physical disabilities or who cannot compete either in the way they might have been able to in the past before an accident or something like that or from birth. I say that as somebody who grew up a stone's throw from the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Rochestown Avenue in Dún Laoghaire. A particular number of people go through that hospital and we see the devastating injuries some of them have suffered as a result of accidents. Also in Dún Laoghaire, Sailing Ireland has a fantastic facility through an organisation it supports called Sailability Ireland, which provides sailing facilities for people with disabilities in Dún Laoghaire and throughout the country. These are just two examples.

We are 489 days away from the Paralympic Games in Paris in August 2024. Unfortunately, para-sailing has been taken out of the Paralympic spectrum. I hope Ireland will support the reintroduction of para-sailing. We rely on Paralympics Ireland to help organisations and sporting bodies to get their people together and facilitate their entry into the Paralympics. That is welcome. They support 21 national sporting bodies in that regard. However, there is a massive difference between one body and the other in terms of how they properly encourage people who partake in their particular sport, whatever that might be.

In the context of the funding that has been provided for non-professional sports, is there room for targeted funding for those involved in Paralympics? We have seen other countries, including our nearest neighbour, targeting funding into those sports and towards success in particular areas. Success is not the main aim of any Paralympic or Olympic Games, participation is. Getting people to qualify to be in the games is very important. Some of those 21 national sporting bodies that are supported by Paralympics Ireland are not providing the guidance and support for some of their sportspeople. I am wondering if there is room in the funding scheme put forward by the Department to give dedicated expertise to them in helping ensure Irish para-sportspeople qualify in their discipline. Sometimes it is a lack of expertise and sometimes it is a lack of will within sporting organisations, being perfectly honest, but it must never be a lack of funding.I am hoping that the Department will commit to increasing the funding generally for sports, but specifically for para-sports, in Ireland. As part of that, I hope it will include a stream that will allow sporting organisations throughout this country to target qualification for the Paralympics - realistically, at this stage, the Los Angeles games in 2028 - on an ongoing basis so that we can see increasing numbers of Irish people competing at the highest possible level and, hopefully, winning medals.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú. Ba mhaith liom a dheimhniú leis an Teach go dtuigim go rímhaith an tábhacht a bhaineann le breis maoinithe agus tacaíochta a chur ar fáil don spórt agus do na heagraíochtaí spóirt a thugann deis do dhaoine páirt a ghlacadh ag an leibhéal neamhphroifisiúnta, ina measc daoine atá faoi mhíchumas. Tá méadú ar an leibhéal rannpháirtíochta mar chroílár ár bpolasaí náisiúnta spóirt, agus é mar chuspóir againn go mbeidh 60% de dhaoine fásta na tíre ag glacadh páirte i spórt faoi 2027. Chun an aidhm seo a bhaint amach, tá mé tiomanta chun tacú leis na heagrais náisiúnta rialaithe don spórt, agus leis na comhpháirtíochta áitiúil spóirt, chun a chinntiú go mbeidh neart deiseanna ag gach duine a bhfuil suim acu páirt a ghlacadh sa spórt.

We are on track to achieve our ambition of doubling the State's investment in sport to €220 million by 2027. This year, we will be investing €175 million. Five years ago, the corresponding figure was €110 million. As the Senator has alluded to, there have been significant increases in sports funding. In February, Sport Ireland announced an investment of €26 million in core grant funding for national governing bodies and local sports partnerships for this year. This significant investment is key to supporting the delivery of sport throughout the country. There is €16 million being invested in national governing bodies, NGBs, this year, up from €15 million last year. This will help NGBs to develop and expand their participation programmes so that increasing numbers of people can enjoy the benefits of sport.

Disability-focused NGBs play a strong role in working with the broader sports sector to increase opportunities for people with disabilities to be more active. Funding for Irish wheelchair sport, Vision Sports Ireland, Deaf Sports Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland have all increased this year compared to 2022. The network of 29 local sports partnerships around the country also plays a crucial role in promoting and increasing participation in sport and physical activity at local level and in engaging groups that are under-represented in sporting activity. There is €10 million being allocated to the local sports partnerships this year.

Sport Ireland is continuing its support for the network of 29 sport inclusion disability officers around the country again this year. There is €910,000 being invested in the network to assist with the work being done to encourage and facilitate more people with disabilities to participate in sport and physical activity. The disability officers are also playing an important role in helping people with a disability to re-engage with sport and physical activity after Covid-19. We are committed to a sport-for-all approach aimed at ensuring all persons have the opportunity to partake equally in sport and physical activity, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, disability or membership of the LGBTI+ community, the Traveller community or other ethnic minorities. State funding programmes for people with a disability and those experiencing disadvantage have more than doubled in recent years under funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

With regard to capital funding, the Government has also been steadfast in its support for non-professional sports of all codes, including para-sports. Is é an clár caipitil agus trealaimh spóirt an príomh-mhodh tacaíochta Rialtais maidir le háiseanna spóirt agus áineasa a fhorbairt agus maidir le trealamh spóirt neamhphearsanta a cheannach ar fud na tíre. Tá leas bainte ag breis is 13,000 tionscadal as an maoiniú caipitil ó 1998, agus is ionann leithdháiltí iomlán i gcaitheamh na tréimhse sin agus €1.1 billiún.

Anuraidh, fógraíodh pacáiste de €166.6 milliún i ndeontais nua chaipitil faoin mbabhta is déanaí den chlár caipitil agus trealaimh spóirt. Ba é seo an leibhéal is mó maoinithe a fógraíodh riamh faoin scéim. Tá sé geallta i gclár an Rialtais go leanfar ag tacú leis an clár caipitil agus trealaimh spóirt agus tá mé tiomanta chun leanúint leis an méadú suntasach infheistíochta san earnáil seo sna blianta amach romhainn.

The Senator raised a number of unspecified issues that certain sports may not be giving proper support to athletes with a disability. I would certainly be willing to hear from the Senator after this debate about that matter, and from national governing bodies. I certainly will not tolerate that. I can assure the Senator it is not an issue of funding. The funding is there. We are increasing the funding every year but if there are particular governing bodies that are not treating para-sports equally or taking inclusion seriously, I certainly want to hear about it and will take whatever action is necessary.

Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge the extensive rundown the Minister of State has given of the contributions and the commitment that the Government has made to sport. I welcome that and acknowledge it.

I am particularly grateful for what the Minister of State said in relation to the issue I raised and I am happy to engage with him after this debate. I do not want to name any organisations on the record but it is important that we recognise that many national sporting bodies have a huge amount of work to do to marry their commitment to mainstream sports with their commitment to para-sports. The Minister of State mentioned Special Olympics Ireland as well. There are many sporting bodies involved in this stream of sporting activity. Within some of them, sometimes there is a disconnect between their publicly stated commitment to para-sports, and the commitment they give to applications, qualification criteria and helping paralympians, potential paralympians or para-sports people to meet those criteria, whatever the qualification criteria might be. I very much welcome what the Minister of State has said and I am happy to engage with him.

I also welcome what the Minister of State said about there not being a lack of funding. I wonder if, in that regard, we could help Paralympics Ireland to put in place a person whose job is to specifically target the qualification process for paralympians.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Paralympics is important for us. It is an important target for the country, as well as the Olympics. Indeed, a number of sporting organisations that I have met recently have been talking about Paralympics. I attended a qualifications process for the Olympics and the Paralympics together in a particular sport as well. I can see a lot of work happening. Where there are gaps, I certainly want to be of help. Of course, I am more than happy to engage - I have done so informally - with Paralympics Ireland and its sister organisation, the Olympic Federation of Ireland, at any time and to hear more from the Senator as well.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit agus leis an Seanadóir. I thank the Minister of State for taking the second and third Commencement matters. I know he has to go off to some other business. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Richmond.