The Government will today publish details of the Sport Ireland Bill bringing the two agencies responsible for Government spending in the area of sport under one roof of Sport Ireland.
The Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus will become Sport Ireland under the new legislation though no job losses are envisaged under the rationalisation.
The original heads of bill were published in January of this year. That was followed by a report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee which put forward six recommendations about how those heads could be improved.
Betting revenues
These included the possibility of ring fencing betting revenues across a wider range of sport than is currently catered for under the Horse and Greyhound Act though this would raise considerable difficulty for the two sports currently benefitting from that arrangement.
It also criticised the idea of taking the remit of research back from the new authority and making it a function of the department. This could stifle criticism of Government policy in the area which while rare under the life of the Irish Sports Council could in different times be needed at a different level.
A broader remit in education, information and encouraging participation in sport was suggested, as was the possibility of exploring more of a partnership based approach to sport. This is central to what Sport for Business has been involved in fostering since our launch in 2012 and will continue to do working alongside the new body.
Steady progress
Progress in sport has been steady at the National Sports Campus over recent years and despite there being no ‘big bang’ of a national sports arena, the amount of facilities that have been developed, are under construction or have been approved for the next stage are impressive.
It is one of those programmes which, not unlike the national roads network will when finished seem as though it was always there. That it should have been maintained and expanded under the difficult economic challenges faced by the current and one previous Government deserves credit.
The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will host next weeks Sport for Business Members’ Round Table on Alcohol and Sport.
