Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the steps which are being taken by his Department to promote sport on an all Ireland basis. [9006/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Sports Council and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland have an excellent working relationship and engage in a number of joint initiatives, such as the code of ethics and good practice for children's sport, the all-island sports development conference and programmes such as Youth Sport West. The high level all-island planning group, which includes the chairperson and chief executive of each council, meets on a regular basis to ensure consistency in policy and practice in sports development. There is co-operation on such issues as research, development of high performance sport and anti-doping. The group ensures that there is no duplication of effort in planning and support for governing bodies of sport and individual athletes.

Regular meetings take place between officials of my Department and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure at which sporting topics are discussed to the mutual benefit of each Department.

The selection of London last July as the host city for the 2012 games offers Ireland an unprecedented opportunity for businesses, tourism and sport. I have met David Hanson MP, Northern Ireland's Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure for discussions on a number of sports issues, including the opportunities in relation to London hosting the 2012 summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The Minister and I agreed there were tremendous opportunities for both Northern Ireland and the Republic to benefit from the games. The existing close working relationships both at departmental and sports council levels will provide a solid basis upon which to maximise the opportunities ahead. I have also discussed the situation with Richard Caborn MP, the British Minister for Sport, who has warmly welcomed the approach being undertaken on an all-island basis here.