Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if additional resources could be made available for Sport Ireland, in order to encourage the participation of young persons, particularly those in disadvantaged areas, in sport. [56826/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Increasing participation levels in sport for all age cohorts is a priority of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 and is a key objective for my Department. In pursuit of that objective, we are committed to a Sport for All approach aimed at ensuring that all persons have the opportunity to partake equally in sport and physical activity, regardless of age, social-economic status, disability, or membership of, for example, the LGBTI+ community, the Traveller community or other ethnic minorities. Increasing participation amongst these groups is a core objective of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027, and will be an essential action if we are to achieve the target of 60% of the population participating in sport and physical activity.

At the end of November 2021, I launched a new Sports Action Plan covering the period up to the end of 2023; this includes a series of actions and initiatives aimed at increasing participation levels across the board including an Innovation Fund to promote innovative collaborative projects with a view to increasing sustainable participation in sport, an Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Fund, and a youth-centred stakeholder forum to guide the adoption of the strategic framework recommended in the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity Study 2018.

In May 2022, my Department held a Youth Stakeholder Forum on sport where we gathered young people together at the Sport Ireland Campus in order to identify the barriers that are keeping young people from sport, and to gain some insight into how those barriers could be addressed. A report on that forum has been drafted and will help inform and direct the measures my Department takes to address youth participation in sport.

In May 2021, Sport Ireland published its Participation Plan 2021-2024 - Increasing Participation in Changing Ireland. The Participation Plan outlines how Sport Ireland will continue to help people to get active by removing barriers to participation in sport and physical activity in the coming years. Sport Ireland is undertaking several initiatives for children and young people under its Participation Plan. The Sport Ireland Participation Plan actions will be delivered through Local Sports Partnerships, National Governing Bodies, strategic partners, clubs, communities and individuals.

The Sport Ireland Participation Plan is built on, and guided by, the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 (NSP) and the Sport Ireland Strategy 2018-2022. The Participation Plan takes into consideration Healthy Ireland – A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013–2025 and the National Physical Activity Plan as well as global and national developments.

As the Deputy will be aware, a current funding allocation of €89.4 million has been announced for Sport Ireland in Budget 2023. This allocation will enable Sport Ireland to continue to support the sport sector next year, including support for increased participation at all levels.

In addition, work is underway to embed the Sport for All approach in funding drawn down from the Dormant Accounts funds that are specifically aimed at increasing participation levels amongst disadvantaged communities and people with a disability. Forthcoming rounds of funding will place further emphasis on the Sport for All approach. The total amount of funding being allocated from the Dormant Accounts funding for such projects this year is €12 million, approximately three times the amount allocated a number of years ago and representing a 20% increase on last year's provision.

Finally, it will be appreciated that if we are to increase participation we need to have the requisite sports facilities. The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising the investment in disadvantaged areas.

The final allocations under the latest round of the SCEP were announced in May of this year and the total allocation of over €166 million represented the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. I will announce the exact timing of a new round of the Programme shortly but it is hoped to have it open for applications early in the new year.