Charities Consultation, Sports Capital Programme & Cycle Tourism are amongst the latest topics for conversation in Kildare Street……

Jan 30, 2013

Charities Regulation Consultation

The Charities Act, 2009 when enacted included a specific ban on sporting organisations as entities to which charitable status could be granted. This is something the Federation of Irish Sport objected to at the time. However, most of the Act which amongst other things provided for the setting up of a Charities Regulator never came into force.

Life has recently been breathed into the legislation again with the Department for Justice & Equality opening a consultation process on plans to bring the Act into force.  Whilst the focus of the consultation centres on the establishment of the Regulator given the financial constraints the State is under, the Federation intends to raise the concerns of the sport sector at their specific exclusion from the Act as part of the process.

On announcing the consultation Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter said:

 “Charities play a vital role in our society and economy. We want to support them in this by putting in place a system of regulation that is proportionate, responsive, and sensitive to the needs and concerns of both charities themselves and the donor public.”

We have delayed bringing this legislation into force as we considered how  best to achieve the objectives of the Act in a context of Government  spending reductions. While this is clearly going to be challenging, it remains my view that there is both a need and widespread support for effective and affordable regulation of the charities sector. The Charities Act 2009 provides the framework for this. Working within this framework with flexibility and creativity, I am confident that we can support public trust and confidence in the charities sector, as well as assisting charities to achieve and maintain high standards of governance and accountability. Charities are the recipients of significant investment – from the donor public, from their volunteers and workers, and from the taxpayer through Government grants and contracts for services. It is in all our interests that this investment is safeguarded, managed effectively, and ultimately benefits the charitable purpose it is intended for. The statutory regulation of charities will support this.

So that we can achieve this goal in the current budgetary circumstances, I am proposing that charities will be asked to pay a modest and proportionate annual fee to contribute to the costs of maintaining the statutory Register of Charities which is one of the key provisions of the Charities Act. Some initial suggestions on how this might be implemented are contained in the consultation paper.

I encourage anyone with an interest in the charities sector to participate in this consultation and look forward in particular to the engagement of the charities sector, the donor public and other interested stakeholders.”

The consultation paper includes proposals and consultation questions on the establishment of a Charities Regulatory Authority and a statutory Register of Charities. It also includes proposals and consultation questions on the types of financial and activity reports that registered charities will berequired to provide to the Charities Regulatory Authority once it is established.

To read the consultation paper and to submit a response, go to http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/CharitiesConsult?OpenForm. The deadline for responses is 20 March 2013. During the consultation period, the Department of Justice and Equality plans to convene a stakeholder meeting on the proposals. Further information on arrangements for this meeting will be available in the coming weeks. It is envisaged that the responses to the consultation will be published in due course.

Sports Capital Programme

In late December, Minister Michael Ring, announced details of €5 million worth of national and regional projects which will receive funding under the Sports Capital Programme. This funding was additional to the €26 million in grants for 615 local projects announced earlier in the month. Full details of the projects supported by this latest round of capital funding can be viewed at the end of the page.

Parliamentary Questions

Most of the parliamentary questions on sport in January centred on the allocation of the sports capital grants. On the 22^nd January, however, Minister Varadkar outlined details of the Irish aspects of the EU EuroVelo project designed to develop cycle tourism across the EU.

Minister Vardakar confirmed that Ireland had been asked as part of the EuroVelo project to identify long distance routes that could contribute to cycling tourism in Europe. There was no commitment however to deliver the routes. Two such routes were identified in Ireland being the Atlantic Coast Route and the Capitals Route.

The Minister said that there was no plan to deliver either route in its entirety. However, funding had been allocated for an on-road route between Donegal & Netwoncunningham being part of the Atlantic Coastal Route whilst, the Great Western Greenway in May also had a very significant coastal element to it.

He also confirmed in relation to the Dublin-Galway route that recent funding initiatives have delivered sections of this route particularly along the canal. Minister Varadkar confirmed that the National Roads Aauthority is now undertaking detailed route alignment and design work for the route with a view to delivering the route as a cycling corridor in sections as funding allows.

Cycling is a significant driver of sports tourism in Ireland. A recently published report by Fáilte Ireland indicated that 178,000 international tourists took part in cycling during their stay in Ireland in 2011, while 6% of domestic holiday makers took part in cycling activities. Further information on the Fáilte Ireland report can be found through the link below:

(http://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/3_Research_Insights/3_General_SurveysReports/Tourism_Facts_2011_v2.pdf?ext=.pdf)

Ring launches Swim Ireland’s Swim Healthy Initiative

Jan 30, 2013

Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring took the plunge today (Tuesday, January 29th) launching the “Swim Healthy” Initiative which is aimed at promoting recreational swimming countrywide.

The initiative comes on the back of a comprehensive piece of research ‘Swimming in Ireland: A Statistical Analysis’ conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on behalf of The Irish Sports Council and Swim Ireland.

The research revealed that swimming has become the most popular form of sport and exercise for Irish adults with over 230,000 people (almost 7% of Irish adults) swimming every week.

“As Minister for Sport, I believe it is extremely important that people are encouraged and given opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Swimming is one of the best forms of physical exercise for developing and maintaining high levels of physical fitness can play a key role in combatting heart disease, stroke, diabetes and osteoporosis. It is something most people can participate in from a very early age and right throughout their lives. Swimming is a most basic, natural and efficient way of taking exercise,” Minister Ring said.

Among the key findings of the research were:-

• Swimming has become the most popular form of sport and exercise for Irish adults.
• Women tend to swim more often than men and swim for health reasons rather than competition.
• The West of Ireland and the border counties enjoy the highest level of participation.
• Swimming can play a key role in combating heart disease, stroke, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Among the key elements in the Swim Healthy initiative are:-

• An upgraded Swim Ireland website (www.swimireland.ie) which is now the “go to” place to find out about swimming in Ireland.  The website includes a database of all pools in Ireland and also provides information on courses, instructors and clubs.
• A quality programme to accredit and licence Swim Ireland teachers and coaches to the highest standard.
• A roll-out of the Swim Ireland “Learn to Swim” programme.
• Promotion of the country’s swimming clubs as the place to go for those interested in becoming more competent and/or being more competitive.
• Utilising the services of other sportsmen and women who see the value of swimming as a wonderful way of keeping fit.  Rugby’s Shane Horgan is a recent covert to recreational swimming.

According to Swim Ireland Chief Executive, Sarah Keane, swimming is the only exercise that can be practised ‘from cradle to grave’ and is an excellent form of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.

“For swimming to realise its potential we need many different elements to come together.  We see our role as being a catalyst for swimming, as working with all of the parties involved to make it as easy as possible for people of all ages to become involved. That includes working with the owners of facilities, with instructors, with coaches and with those providing swimming courses. Ultimately we would love to see all teachers delivering the Swim Ireland ‘Learn to Swim’ programme which we have devised with expert input to ensure it delivers the best instruction by the best instructors in a safe and supervised environment.”

Welcoming the initiative John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council, commended Swim Ireland for their participation with the Irish Sports Council (ISC) in the research which he said had pointed the way to the initiative being announced.  He added that the research had been the first sports specific research ever undertaken by the ISC.

“The research indicated that there has been a strong growth in swimming in recent years.  Instead of resting on that success Swim Ireland has sought to build on it by making it easier for people to access information in relation to pools and classes and also in providing better swimming instruction.  They are to be complimented on their initiative which can only be good for the health of the country,” said Mr Tracey

Speaking of the research co-author Dr Pete Lunn of the ESRI said: “The pattern of results we found suggests that swimming makes an important contribution to public health. Swimming can be undertaken by a broad range of people of different abilities and fitness levels, so the promotion of swimming can play a key role in policy to increase physical activity.   The findings also reveal that the increased involvement of women in sport has knock-on effects for the next generation. People whose mothers were active in sport and exercise when they were children are much more likely to become regular swimmers. “

See the full report here

For further information, please contact:-

Trish Mayon, Swim Ireland  Tel: +353 1 6251138

New Rowing Ireland CEO Announced

Jan 25, 2013

Press Release from Rowing Ireland:

Hamish Adams has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of Rowing Ireland. He takes over from Acting CEO Frank Coghlan and will be based in the National Rowing Centre at Farran Wood, Ovens, Cork.

Adams moves from his current role with the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA) in late February. He has worked primarily in rugby with the New Zealand and Irish Rugby Union’s and was tasked with the establishment of the Munster Academy in 2004 and then the development of the professional players welfare programme in 2008 with IRUPA.

Adams said: “I am honoured to be appointed to the role of CEO with Rowing Ireland. Rowing in Ireland has a proud history of both performance and participation and we certainly want to create an ongoing legacy for our members. Rowing is a fantastic community sport that is very accessible to all and it is certainly our priority to grow the sport through innovation going forward.”

Rowing Ireland President Anthony Dooley added: “This is a great appointment for Rowing Ireland. We have conducted an extensive recruitment process and believe that Hamish will be a valuable addition to our team. He has vast experience in sports administration and I was delighted when he agreed to take on the role.”

Hamish will work closely with Morten Espersen who was also recently appointed to the role of High Performance Director at Rowing Ireland. Espersen of Denmark has a rich history of Olympic success and will be looking to the next generation of rowers for Rio in 2016.

Rowing Ireland is the governing body for the 80 affiliated clubs on the island of Ireland and is supported by both the Irish Sports Council and Sport Northern Ireland.

For further information:

Rowing Ireland
021 7434044
info@rowingireland.ie

19 Flagship Sporting Events Receive Funding Under IPB Gathering Ireland Fund

Jan 18, 2013

19 Flagship Sporting Events Receive Funding Under IPB Gathering Ireland Fund

19 Sporting events have been named in the list of 82 ‘Flagship Events’ that will receive funding under the €2m IPB Gathering Ireland Fund as announced by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring.

As highlighted in the Federation of Irish Sport’s Annual Review, sports tourism in Ireland is serious business. Not only does sport serve as a hook for bringing people to Ireland research by the British Tourism Authority would indicate that it attracts high spending tourists with their findings indicating that a “sports tourist” spends almost twice as much on average as the “ordinary tourist”

It was a sporting event, the Emerald Isle Classic, that was used as a platform to launch The Gathering  in 2012. The Aviva Stadium Match between Notre Dame and Navy attracted the 35,000 visitors from the US, the largest number of Americans to ever travel to a sporting fixture outside of the US including the Olympic Games.

American Football is however only one example of the power of sports tourism in Ireland. In 2012 over 30 international sporting events were held throughout Ireland, generating tourism revenue for the economy. Examples include the 2,284 bed nights created by the Great Limerick Run; the 155,000 overseas visitors who played golf in Ireland spending an estimated €204m; and the 1.15 million people who attended the Tall Ships events in Dublin Port.

Federation of Irish Sport Chief Executive, Sarah O’Connor, welcomed Thursday’s announcement and reiterated just how important sport is to Ireland’s Tourism Industry, “Tourism is integral to Ireland’s economy and Irish Sport wants to ensure that it can play a full contributing to the future growth of both foreign and domestic tourism in Ireland. Internationally, we know that sports tourism is one of the fastest growing niches in the overall global tourism trade whilst, sport is also a key contributor to domestic tourism. In Canada 38% of their domestic tourism is directly attributed to travel associated with sport.

“Irish Sport has a strong track record in the hosting of sports events and it is unsurprising that sport is playing a key role in the Gathering. Indeed, we would hope that the contribution of sport to this year’s initiative might serve as a springboard to the development of a dedicated agency to bid for sports events which would ensure that sport and government were working in tandem to secure a steady stream of sports events into Ireland with all the ancillary benefits that this would provide in particular, the welcome dividend to our tourism industry.”

Speaking at the launch, Minister Ring said, “Our marketing efforts have moved up a level to promote the Gathering 2013, and have received a further boost with Ireland’s inclusion in Fodor’s Travel ‘Go List’ of top destinations to visit in 2013. USA Today has included The Gathering Ireland 2013 in its five ‘buzz-worthy destinations for 2013’, while Rick Steve’s’ has included a hurling match as one of the ‘8 magical experiences in Europe’.”

A total of 1322 of the 2,600 registered Gatherings to date will receive funding under the IPB Gathering Ireland Fund which was administered by the City and County Councils based on agreed application criteria.

The Gathering 2013 Flagship Sporting Events:

Number of Gatherings under the Community Fund per local authority

IPB Flagship Events per Local Authority

Irish athletes to take part in Deaflympics in Bulgaria

Jan 9, 2013

Deaf Sports Ireland has kicked off the year by beginning preparations for this July’s Summer Deaflympics, which will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Irish Deaf Men’s football team have already qualified for the games, after a penalty shoot out win over Germany, last September.

Other Irish teams hoping to qualify include badminton, tennis and swimming. Altogether, there are 18 sports included in the Deaflympics. The cost of sending these athletes to compete in Bulgaria is substantial, estimated at roughly €100,000 for 50 competitors. The Irish Sports Council (ISC) Core Grant will cover some of the costs and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) will also provide some financial support. However, in order to compete, these athletes will still depend on private donations.

The Summer Deaflympics were first held in Paris in 1924 as the International Silent Games, a full 22 years before the Paralympics, rendering them the second oldest multiple sporting event worldwide. Four years ago, records were broken when 10,000 volunteers were involved and 4081 people participated in the games. This included officials as well as athletes, and it is expected that this record will be broken once again this summer.

The Deaflympics and Paralympics are very distinct from one another and whilst the Paralympics boasts many categories, none are specifically aimed at Deaf athletes. The Deaflympics events cannot be guided by sounds, ruling out the use of whistles, bullhorns and gunshots. Other signals are used, for example, in football tournaments the referee waves a flag.

Some Deaf competitors feel that they would have an unfair physical advantage in the Paralympics, while for others the importance lies in the cultural distinction between the two sporting events. The Deaflympics are also more inclusive for Deaf athletes who will not be isolated socially from other athletes through a language barrier.

For more information, contact:

Lorelei Fox-Roberts

Communications and fundraising assistant, Deaf Sports Ireland

(mobile) 0877900800

(email) info@deafsportsireland.com

Irish Wheelchair Association – Sport to host Wheelchair Rugby European Qualifying Championships

Jan 7, 2013

Irish Wheelchair Association – Sport (IWA – Sport) has been granted the hosting of the Wheelchair Rugby European Qualifying Championships from the 7^th to the 9^th of February 2013 in Gormanston College, Co Meath.

This tournament will see Ireland, Italy, Holland and the Czech Republic compete for two places in the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium in August 2013.

The tournament will begin on Thursday evening the 7^th of February with Ireland taking on the Czech Republic and Italy facing Holland.

Supporters are welcome to attend at any stage over the three days and admission is free.
The fixtures and times are as follows;

Thursday 7^th of February

Opening ceremony                                                         Time 6pm
Ireland                  v              Czech Republic                  Time: 615pm

Friday 8^th of February

Ireland                 v              Italy                                       Time: 11am

Holland                 v              Czech Republic                  Time: 1pm

Ireland                 v              Holland                                Time: 6pm

Saturday 9^th of February

3rd                         v              4th                                         Time: 2pm

1st                          v              2nd                                        Time: 430pm

Ends

Further information

Nicky Hamill, Director of Sport, IWA – Sport

Nicky.hamill@iwa.ie |01 818 6422| 087 9453836 | www.iwasport.com/wrecq

About Wheelchair Rugby – Wheelchair Rugby is a mixed team sport for male and female quadriplegic athletes. A unique sport created by athletes with a disability, it combines elements of rugby, basketball and handball. Players compete in manual wheelchairs specifically designed for the sport. Players compete in teams of four to carry the ball across the opposing team’s goal line. Contact between wheelchairs is permitted, and is in fact an integral part of the sport as players use their chairs to block and hold opponents. Players must meet minimum disability criteria and be classifiable under the sport classification rules. Wheelchair Rugby is a Paralympic sport, with twenty-six countries competing in international competition and more than ten others developing national programs.

About Irish Wheelchair Association Sport (IWA- Sport) IWA Sport is the National Governing Body (NGB) in Ireland for sport for people with physical disability and our mission is to provide opportunities for people with a disability to participate in sport at a level of their choice.

IWA – Sport is primarily funded by the Irish Sports Council and we deliver an annual programme of services in line with our 2012 – 2015 strategy including recreational and competitive participation opportunities, multi sport junior level and sports specific participation opportunities, home and international competition opportunities, high performance programmes and other forms of expertise in areas including access consultation, advocacy and a general focus on increasing the awareness of our services.

As a multi sport NGB our highest participative sports are as follows; wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, athletics, swimming, table tennis, archery, sailing, handcycling, tennis, boccia and bowls. We also promote other sports and while this list is not exhaustive it currently includes, fishing, rowing, cue sports, badminton, powerlifting and volleyball.