Sir, - I feel I must refer to your editorial of July 17th entitled "Leaving Sport in the Shadows", and particularly your suggestion that little has changed with the appointment of a Minister for Sport at the Cabinet table.
For the record, here are the facts, which I would have expected a reputable paper such as yours to establish prior to such an Editorial.
Since his appointment as Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, James McDaid has:
secured the biggest annual budget yet allocated by an Irish Government to assist in the development of sport, resulting in a doubling of Government funding from £13 million in 1997 to £26 million this year;
received approval to seek tenders for proposals to develop Ireland's first ever 50-metre swimming pool, the result of which he expects by year end;
launched proposals for Ireland's first anti-doping programme for sport which, when operational, will facilitate ratification of the Council of Europe's Anti-Doping Convention (1989), signed by Ireland in June 1992;
launched a ground-breaking system of structured supports for our high performing sports people and emerging new talent, offering improved financial support and access, free of charge, for the first time, to services such as sports science and medical support, career planning and counselling, training, facilities etc. The budget for the scheme is twice that available under the Outstanding Sportsperson Scheme in 1997, which it replaces;
completely revamped the funding scheme for National Governing Bodies of Sport so that bodies may now seek annual assistance in one single application, replacing five separate schemes which operated previously. It also allows for the early issue of allocation notifications to facilitate better planning and greater strategy by these bodies, i.e. involvement in international events during the year.
Furthermore, by bringing together in the one Department functions relating to tourism, sport, recreation and the development of our most disadvantaged communities, particularly those scourged by drug abuse, the Government has created the environment where the common interests between these functions can be exploited and developed.
Specifically, as regards the more deprived areas, since the establishment of the new Department, the Government has created a special programme for young people at risk, the centrepiece of which is a Young People's Facilities and Services Fund of £30 million to be provided over the next three years to support a variety of capital and non-capital projects in disadvantaged areas. Chris Flood TD Minister of State, at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation has recently invited proposals from the 13 areas particularly affected by the heroin problem for projects to be funded to the tune of £20 million out of this fund.
These projects are of course additional to some 750 sport and recreation projects currently under development or in completion throughout the country, which have been approved within the past 12 to 15 months for grant assistance under the Sports Capital Programme.
Before the end of the year, the Minister expects to publish a Sports Bill which will create Ireland's first ever dedicated statutory framework for overseeing the development of sport. He also expects to have completed a comprehensive review of the Sports Capital Programme to ensure that its operation continues to meet policy objectives for capital expenditure in this area.
So, as you can see, to dismiss sport's first year at the Cabinet as a time of no change is totally inaccurate and unjustified. A brief perusal of the above facts tells quiet the opposite story.
For the record, the following is the position regarding the Olympic Council of Ireland application for grant assistance towards the World Youth Olympics. The Council sought funding for an Irish team of 104 participants and 34 officials. Yet, it is understood that the US has only 95 competitors at the Games. The OCI sought £97,500 plus a further £50,000 for clothes and equipment. The Sports Council considered the application and recommended that the Exchequer provide up to £50,000 for the venture, or 75 per cent of the cost of the project, whichever was the lesser. The council chose to decline the offer and apparently to rely on the games organisers to take a much smaller Irish team than would have been the case with the funding on offer.
Finally, your Editorial makes no attempt to quantify the economic gain to Ireland of "catching the eye of potential tourists" by way of successfully hosting major events such as the Tour de France and the Ryder Cup, the sporting impact of which constitute but one element of the overall rationale for such investment. - Yours, etc., Bart Cronin, Press Officer, Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.