The Federation of Irish Sport, representing 76 national governing bodies of sport has published a manifesto for sport which it hopes will make it into the wider political manifestos of the leading political parties.
In a world where greater worth is apportioned to news that is deemed to be fresh and shiny the restating of the obvious can sometimes be overlooked, but the five core elements of the manifesto do need to be kept in the public and political eye.
They include a list of actions from restoration of funding to tax reliefs, a greater emphasis on PE in schools and on sports tourism and the development of a national sports strategy.
Sporting stakeholders
In politics it is always a good sign to ask for something that you know is coming and so it is with the last of those requests. There will be a gathering of sporting stakeholders through the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport in the next month where a consultation on what sport believes should be key to a national strategy will be aired and discussed.
The Federation manifesto calls for the creation of a sports ‘tsar’ who would have overall responsibility for bringing stakeholders together, securing commitments and delivering on objectives. That is an interesting concept and a step towards ‘joined up’ thinking across the multiple Departments, state agencies and private institutions that can either deliver or disable a smart sports policy.
In terms of funding we will learn next week how sport has fared in terms of current funding via Sport Ireland (formerly the Irish Sports Council) out of the budget. The Minister for State for Sport Michael Ring announced a third round of Capital funding which will deliver €41 million to 891 projects so for a second year running the total sports allocation from the state will be closer to €100 million than many might have thought possible in the depths of the economic downturn.
Tax parity with charity
The call for tax reliefs to put sport on a similar footing to charities where tax relief could be claimed on both capital and current spending was made last year and is reiterated again. This would bring Ireland into line with the US, UK and Australia and was a recommendation of the Commission on Taxation in 2009.
The fourth call is for a mandatory two hours of PE each week. This is against a background of only 10% of secondary schoolchildren meeting the minimum recommended by the Department of Education and Skills but not yet mandated.
Finally there is a call for the establishment of a national sports event bidding agency which would draw on a €450 billion global sports tourism market. This was a subject teased out at the recent Sport for Business Round Table on Sports Tourism and work is being done in the background on defining what such an agency might look like for the various groups that would benefit from a stronger collaborative approach.
Bernard Brogan, President of the Federation of Irish Sport, is calling on all political parties to recognise the value of sport and to pledge support for its Manifesto for Irish Sport.
“Sport is a key part of what defines us and brings us together as communities, as counties, as provinces and as a country, said Bernard Brogan, President of the Federation at the launch of the manifesto in Dublin
National Pride
“When we play on the international stage, and the Irish flag is raised or the national anthem played, our sense of national pride and what we are capable of, soars.”
“With just a little effort on behalf of Government in setting out a vision and strategy for where we want sport to go in this country, linked with the required resources and ongoing monitoring, we could do so much better.”
“I urge all political parties and candidates to sign up to the commitments contained in our Manifesto for Irish Sport. Why should we as a country settle for second best—we must be in a position to compete, and to compete to win.”
“The power of sport is undeniable: sport can achieve a wide range of social, cultural and economic benefits for society,” said Mark Balcar, Director of Sports Think Tank in the UK.
“Our research in England, shows overwhelmingly that the sport sector wants strong Government leadership and a long-term sports strategy that joins up the many different interests within Government. This is crucial if the sport sector is to maximise the potential of sport to help deliver in critical areas of public policy, for everyone in society.”
Wide range of dividends
Newly-appointed chief executive of the Federation of Irish Sport, James Galvin, believes that with the right support, sport has the potential to pay a wide range of dividends.
“Sport supports 40,000 jobs in Ireland, adds an extra €1.9 billion in household spending and over €1 billion in tourism receipts.”
“We know that 2.5 million people participate in sport every week here and that regular participation is the equivalent of being 14 years younger.”
“We undoubtedly have a great love of sport in this country and we should capitalise on this passion. By restoring funding levels, by playing fair in terms of tax reliefs, and by creating a dedicated sports event bidding agency, we can become real contenders.”
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