Concern is being expressed over a potential change within the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which could lead to sport losing a key voice at senior level.
An internal vacancy notice has been circulated suggesting a reduction in the number of Assistant Secretary positions and an amalgamation of Tourism and Sport at this important level within the management structure of the public service.
There are currently five Assistant Secretary roles within the Department. They make up the Management Board of the Department alongside Secretary General Tom O’Mahony.
Sport would retain it’s own ‘team’ within the Department, for liaison with the sporting bodies including the new Sport Ireland but there may be less of a dedicated focus at the top of the Department in terms of presenting arguments for budget allocation, funding or sport’s role across multiple departments including Health, Education and Finance.
There is a clear case to be made that sport delivers in many areas and that many different departments should have a full or part time resource dedicated towards exploring the many ways in which it can be used to create a healthier and a better community.
That said, without a single point of contact that has exclusive responsibility at this level there is a danger it will be subsumed.
The Department’s Annual report for 2014, published in April of this year outlined the ambitious plans and detailed implementation of strategies across Aviation, Maritime and Land transport which accounted for 19 pages, Tourism and Sport which accounted for 4 each.
The relative weight of attention, even by that crude metric, suggest why the change is being considered.
An important element of the Tourism section was the bid for the Rugby World Cup which will be a clear focus for the Government, and the public service over the next two years. The fact that this fits neatly into Tourism, as well as sport, is an indication that there is a logic to bringing the two areas closer together but sport as a spectator sport and economic engine is only one part of a multi-faceted benefit for the nation through a clear strategy on sports policy.
That policy is currently being undertaken within the department though perhaps at not yet such a detailed level as is the case in the UK, as we revealed here earlier this month.
Sport is important in many ways. It has perhaps never quite made that case at Government level though because it has been considered a personal choice as opposed to a community responsibility in the same way as healthcare or education.
It is rarely something that arises as an issue on the doorstep when politicians are plying their trade of being re-elected. That matters, for better or worse.
If we lose a key voice within the decision making and influencing process at Government level the challenge of changing that perception will grow tougher.
