Minister set for strategy document

THE long awaited strategy document being prepared by the Irish Sports Council is expected to be with Bernard Allen, the Minister for Sport, within the next 10 days.

The council held its final meeting in Dublin last week and the chairman, John Treacy, confirmed that they are now in the process of tidying up what is thought to be a long and detailed paper.

Since the report was commissioned in the summer, submissions have been made by most of the sporting organisations affiliated to the Olympic Council of Ireland, preparatory to the publication of what is regarded as the most important document of its kind in recent years. Treacy believes that it will address all the relevant issues in the formulation of a policy to take Irish sport into the next millennium.

"It's a report which has been thoroughly researched with inputs from all the major players and we are confident that it will serve sport well," he said. "Our brief was fairly wide ranging and we approached it with no pre-conceived conclusions. It is now up to the minister to decide whether it should be implemented in part or in full."

Critically, it will deal with the funding of the 27 member organisations of the Olympic Council of Ireland and, in particular, the role of the OCI in acting as a conduit for the distribution of State monies.

For some time now, this has been a source of agitation for some of the associations involved and it flared into open controversy in Atlanta this summer in the dispute between the OCI and BLE. Although that dispute had its origins in the interpretation of the rules governing the apparel to be worn by members of the track and field team, it was interpreted as encompassing a much wider issue.

BLE has long been vociferous in its claims that the Olympic authorities use their function as paymasters to intrude, unjustifiably, into the workings of autonomous bodies. It's a belief which has at least some support among other associations.

The counter view is that the OCI, by reason of its make-up, is uniquely equipped to make an overall assessment of Irish sport and fund it accordingly.

For many, this is the central issue to be addressed by both the minister and the Sports Council but Bernard Allen is at pains to stress that the report has a much wider remit.

"It is, of course, an important element of the document but there, are many other matters which will merit equal consideration," he said.

"In commissioning the report, I was aware of the acute need to devise a long-term strategy plan which will work to the benefit of every sporting organisation."

"For years, people have been complaining that sport does not attract the funding which they believe it deserves. And one of the reasons for that situation was that there was never a national plan in place.

"That omission is now about to be corrected and as such, I look forward to receiving the National Council's report and taking the appropriate action.