Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 549: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on achieving the optimum 60 minutes of physical activity per day recommendation, excluding physical education time, for school going children and on the restructuring of the school day if necessary, to achieve a minimum of 30 minutes dedicated physical activity every day in all education settings; if she will develop and implement such a policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3593/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Physical Education is one of the seven curriculum areas within the revised Primary School Curriculum (1999). A minimum of one hour of physical education per week is recommended for all primary school pupils.

In accordance with the Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools, all second-level schools should provide Physical Education as part of the curriculum. The programme that each school plans and delivers should be based on my Department's approved syllabuses and the teaching hours should be registered in the school timetable. The syllabuses have been developed on the basis of a time allocation of two hours per week.

In addition to this, schools have a long and proud tradition of promoting the involvement of students in sporting activities in the wider community. Sports organisations such as the Gaelic Athletic Association, Basketball Ireland, the Football Association of Ireland, the Irish Sports Council and the Local Sports Partnerships provide extensive opportunities for schools to participate in sport.

The achievement of a minimum of 30 minutes dedicated physical activity every day in all educational settings, excluding PE time, is unrealistic at both primary and post-primary levels in the context of a number of factors:

the length of the school day and the challenge to cover all the subjects in the curriculum adequately. Any changes to the length of the school day would require negotiation with the teachers' unions allied with the commitment of significant additional resources

the necessity to use games/sports facilities to provide for all pupils in each school. There are limitations to the numbers that can use some resources at any one time; and

the fact that primary school pupils have just half an hour for lunch and need to spend at least half of that time eating a proper lunch.

It is important to realise that children spend just 20% of their waking hours at school and so their level of physical activity during the rest of the week in just as important. Indeed, the 'State of the Nation's Children' report published by the Minister for Children recently, found that children in Ireland are doing well on physical activity, ranking second across the 32 WHO countries in being physically active for at least 4 hours per week.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 550: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on schools meeting the minimum requirement of two hours of physical education per week delivered by appropriately qualified staff; if she will develop and implement such a policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3594/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Physical Education is one of the seven curriculum areas within the revised Primary School Curriculum (1999). A minimum of one hour of physical education per week is recommended for all primary school pupils.

In accordance with the Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools, all second-level schools should provide Physical Education as part of the curriculum. The programme that each school plans and delivers should be based on my Department's approved syllabuses and the teaching hours should be registered in the school timetable. The syllabuses have been developed on the basis of a time allocation of two hours per week.

The most extensive in-service provision in relation to PE has been happening in Ireland in recent years in the context of implementation of revised curricula in PE at primary and junior cycle level. The curriculum support services at primary and post primary level provide professional development for teachers as well as school based support. School-based support is a very rich form of support and allows the teacher explore the possibilities and limitations of the environment in which they teach. Through modelling of lessons and professional dialogue, the quality of teaching is enhanced and teachers are further enabled to develop their teaching skills.

The Irish Primary PE Association and the PE Association of Ireland (Subject Associations) have been active in organising conferences where teachers can avail of an opportunity to witness the latest thinking in physical education. My Department continues to provide funding for workshops and courses on PE related topics run in conjunction with the Education Centre network across the country. The Primary School Sports Initiative (PSSI) launched a CD of lesson plans for primary teachers in Spring 2006 and these have been distributed to all schools in the country. The lessons correspond with the content objectives of the Primary School PE Curriculum.

In addition to the above, my Department has invested heavily in resources for schools through the inclusion of PE facilities as part of major capital projects, through an unprecedented level of capital spending, and through grants at primary and post primary level in 2006 and 2007 to provide for upgrading and replacement of PE equipment.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on prioritising the provision and maintenance of physical education and physical activity facilities to address the issue of equity and access in all schools; if she will develop and implement such a policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3595/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to the provision, maintenance and modernisation of physical education and physical activity facilities in our schools for our children and young people.

The Physical Education curricula at both primary and second level have been developed on the understanding that facilities available to schools vary. Consequently, they offer a level of flexibility that allows each individual school to design a programme that can be delivered using the resources and supports available to it. Many primary schools have a general purpose room and practically all schools have outdoor play areas which are used for teaching different aspects of the PE programme. A similar situation with sports halls and outdoor facilities applies at second level. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. Where schools decide to provide pupils with swimming classes in school time, they are expected to fund them from resources already available to them.

The extent and quality of local sports facilities has been improved dramatically in recent years, with more than €450 million invested by the Government since 1998 in over 5,000 projects through the Sports Capital Programme. At the same time, PE, general purpose and outdoor play facilities have been provided for schools all over the country through the School Building Programme. Over €2.6 billion has been provided for school building infrastructure between 2000 and 2006 and a further €4.5 billion is to be invested under the new National Development Plan 2007-2013.

New curricula for PE in primary schools and at Junior Cert level have also been put in place. Primary schools received €2000 each in PE equipment grants last year, at a total cost of €6.5 million. A similar grant of €4,000 per pupil, at an overall cost of around €3 million, issued to post-primary schools earlier this year. In addition, since 2000 my Department has provided in excess of €5.5m in grant-aid to primary schools to facilitate the provision of coaching or mentoring in connection with physical education or to purchase resource materials associated with the provision of physical education. Such materials and equipment would normally have a useful life of several years.

So, through an increased focus on exercise in school and in the community, the Government is working to encourage more children and young people to get active.

Indeed, the 'State of the Nation's Children' report published by the Minister for Children, found that children in Ireland are doing well on physical activity, ranking second across the 32 WHO countries in being physically active for at least 4 hours per week.