John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will report on the nationwide audit of sports facilities; and if same will be completed by the time this Government leaves office. [11715/07]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 192: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will report on the nationwide audit of sports facilities; and if this will be completed by the time the Government leaves office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12001/07]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 192 together.

As I have informed the House on a number of occasions, the nationwide audit of sports facilities has commenced and is being carried out in stages to help speed up the availability of information. Phase One is being carried out within my Department and will establish a record of national and regional sports facilities.

The work currently being undertaken is a data gathering exercise in conjunction with the main sporting bodies and local authorities to identify the facilities for inclusion in this phase. My Department has compiled a list in excess of one hundred sports facilities of national or regional significance. Many of these have been funded under the Sports Capital Programme since 1999 and a considerable bank of information already exists, although some of this information is not up to date and therefore an updating of data is being undertaken. Furthermore, details of facilities at third level educational institutions and swimming pools have also been included on this inventory. Further engagement with the main sporting bodies, local authorities, facility owners and managers is being undertaken so that a comprehensive database on the range and nature of sporting facilities at national and regional level can be completed.

As stated previously, the enormity of completing the complete audit of sports facilities should not be underestimated and, given the experience of other countries, is likely to take a number of years to complete.

The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to put in place a national sports facility strategy that will identify gaps in facility provision and set out an approach to fill these gaps. A Steering Group has been appointed and consultants have been engaged by my Department to assist in the preparation of the Strategy. It is envisaged that the Strategy will be completed by the summer. The overall aim of the Strategy is to identify the facilities needed for any given sport so that, insofar as is feasible and reasonable, all those who want to participate in sport can do so within a reasonable distance of their home or base, and at reasonable cost.

One of the key outputs from the Strategy will be a definition of an appropriate level of sports facility provision, based on relevant international experience and practice, the Department's policy objectives in this area, and Irish circumstances and conditions. The outcome of this exercise should describe the mix and level of facilities that should be aspired to at national level (including meeting our high performance needs) at our main cities; at smaller but regionally-important urban centres; and at a later stage, at local level. This element of the strategy will greatly help in the completion of the audit.

By ascertaining and mapping what is already in place at a national and regional level, an important part of developing a strategic approach to future facility provision will be put in place, as well as establishing the level of need that exists in the sports sector and helping to determine future priorities.

At the request of the London 2012 Task force, the Department is also undertaking a separate limited London 2012 sports infrastructural audit. This will establish a list of facilities that are likely to attract Olympic and Paralympic training camps prior to London 2012. The audit will focus on universities and national sports-specific facilities.