Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on requests to establish a committee to oversee preparation for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16366/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Task Force was established in August 2006 to ensure Ireland can identify and maximise the complete range of opportunities arising from our proximity to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012. The Task Force included experts from the sport, tourism, cultural and business sectors and was supported by staff within my Department.

The Task Force report makes a number of recommendations arising from an audit carried out of high quality sports facilities in Ireland and the findings of a report by Indecon International Economic Consultants on the economic evaluation of the benefit to the island of Ireland of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. It highlights the opportunities for Ireland from the London 2012 Games in the sport, tourism, cultural and business sectors.

I am considering the implementation of the recommendations of the London 2012 Task Force Report taking account of the current economic situation and my meetings with the key high performance stakeholders to identify the challenges which must be met in the preparation of our team for the London Games.

The Irish Sports Council (ISC), which is funded by my Department, has statutory responsibility for encouraging the promotion, development and co-ordination of competitive sport and the achievement of excellence in competitive sport. In this regard the ISC works in partnership with the Irish Institute of Sport, the Olympic Council of Ireland, the Paralympic Council of Ireland and the relevant national governing bodies of sport in the preparation of Irish athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The ISC established a review group to examine the preparations and performances at the 2008 Beijing Games in order to prepare for the 2012 London Games. The overall aim of the review was to make recommendations to the ISC in respect of structures, programmes and investment policy that should be pursued based on the outcomes of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) have also carried out a review of the performance of Irish Athletes at the Beijing Games.

Since the completion of the Beijing Games I have completed a series of meetings with a number of the key stakeholders involved in the support of our elite athletes to discuss how we can best build on the success we had in Beijing and the supports required in terms of coaching, programmes, facilities and funding to ensure the optimum performance of Irish athletes at the London 2012. I have also met with representatives of the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council of Ireland to discuss their views on the existing high performance structure in place and suggested improvements for the London 2012 Olympics including the targeting of a small number of Olympic sports in an effort to win more medals.

The key challenge arising from these meetings and the findings in the reviews undertaken by the ISC and the OCI 2012 is to ensure that the high performance strategy for the London 2012 games is reflective of these findings and it is my intention that this will happen.