Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to roll out the local sports partnership programme on a nationwide basis to promote the development of sport at community level. [20395/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to prioritise sports capital programme grants towards those areas identified as most in need of funding and facilities. [20398/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to promote a national advertising campaign highlighting the health benefits of sport and exercise. [20401/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 164: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to change the application criteria of the sports capital programme grants to require only 10% of own funding or contribution where applicants are located in a recognised area of urban disadvantage such as RAPID and a local drugs task force area. [20402/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to produce a Green Paper on animal welfare in sport and recreation. [20403/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to encourage more schools to apply for funding under the sports capital programme by collaborating with their local sports clubs or community groups. [20407/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to ensure that local sports partnerships have an official dedicated to the promotion of girls' and women's involvement in sport. [20409/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to appoint a member of the Irish Sports Council to deal with all aspects of women in sport, including the gender profiling of all Sports Council decisions. [20410/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 170: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to establish a forum on female participation in sport in conjunction with the Irish Sports Council. [20411/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to create an annual women's sports award scheme. [20412/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 158, 161, 163 to 166, inclusive, and 168 to 171, inclusive, together.

The Department is making good progress in implementing the commitments contained in the Agreed Programme for Government 2007-2012. It is my intention that the Programme will be delivered over a five year period and the commitments will be delivered in that context. In facilitating the Sports Capital Programme, funding is allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The 2008 Programme was advertised on 13th and 14th of January and the deadline for receipt of applications was 29th February for paper-based applications and 7th March for on-line applications. For the 2008 Sports Capital Programme the Department has introduced a number of changes to implement key commitments contained in the Agreed Programme for Government.

The level of own funding required from applicants in urban disadvantaged areas has been reduced from 20% to 10%. This covers applicants from RAPID and Local Drugs Task Force areas. This change is in keeping with the Government's commitment to prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas. When completed, the National Sports Facility Strategy and the National Sports Facility Audit which is currently under way will further help to direct the provision of facilities to areas most in need of funding and facilities.

The Programme for Government also contains important commitments to promote greater sharing of sports facilities between schools and local sports clubs. Under the 2008 Sports Capital Programme, schools making joint applications with local sports clubs are required to provide evidence of formal agreements with local clubs that guarantees the clubs access to school facilities for at least 30 hours per week throughout the year. In assessing applications, extra marks are also awarded to sports clubs that can show that they are allowing local schools to use their facilities. I intend to discuss with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, how his programme for the provision of sports halls in schools and the Sports Capital Programme might be dovetailed to provide greater value for money and enhanced facilities both for schools and the local community users.

In relation to the roll out of the Local Sports Partnership network there are currently 29 LSPs fully operational, with coordinators in place, and the remaining four sites are finalising recruitment arrangements. All 33 LSPs should be fully operational by July 2008. Finally, the Women in Sport programme has received significant Government funding since it was launched in 2005. Through the Women in Sport programme, this Government supports the work of the Irish Sports Council in encouraging women — young and old alike — to become involved in sport as participants, players, officials and administrators. It is my intention to launch the National Volunteer in Sport Awards Programme later this year.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 159: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to complete in conjunction with the local sports partnerships, a national audit of local sports facilities. [20396/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to put in place a long-term strategic plan to ensure the development of necessary local facilities throughout the country. [20397/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 160 together.

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, which focuses on national and regional sports facilities, has now been completed within my Department. Phase two of the audit, which is a more complex undertaking to establish a record of existing sports facilities at local level and identifying the need for future provision, will be undertaken during 2008 with the assistance of Local Authorities. Guidelines have now been issued to Local Authorities to assist them in carrying out the audit.

The audit is part of a wider exercise to put in place a more strategic approach to the provision of sports facilities in Ireland. Work on the National Sports Facility Strategy is currently under way in my Department. An inter-agency steering group was established to oversee the development of the strategy and consultants, involving both national and international experts in the area of sports facilities, were engaged to assist in the preparation of the strategy. The consultants' report is being finalised at present and will then be appraised by the steering group.

The aim of the strategy is to provide high-level policy direction for future investment/grant assistance at national, regional and local level. It is intended to identify the facilities requirement for sport so that participation at reasonable cost is feasible for those who wish to engage in sport at either amateur or elite level.