An inspirational week of awards comes to a close!

Jan 18, 2021

Last week saw three evenings of celebration honouring our fantastic sporting volunteers. The Volunteers in Sport Awards supported by EBS culminated on Thursday evening after three inspirational ceremonies.

We congratulate all winners and the many thousands of volunteers they represent. We also thank our partners EBS, our judging panel and all our members for their continued support and engagement.

Check out the highlights from the awards at https://www.facebook.com/federationofirishsport/videos/721661402122360

Free webinar: Partnership building for EU projects with The Wheel

Jan 11, 2021

There is a Partnership Building For EU Projects webinar being organised by The Wheel Organisation. This event will be of interest to sporting bodies interested in developing EU funded projects for sport in 2021.

Date: 28^th Jan 2021

Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm

Cost: Free

There will be a number of EU Funding programmes inclusing the Erasmus+ Sport programme opening up for applications in 2021. There are three seperate funding programmes available under Erasmus+ Sport at the moment and these include;  

• Collaborative Partnerships Projects, (involves 5 organisation from 5 programme countries)
• Small Collaborative Partnerships Projects  ( involve at least three organisations from 3 different countries)
• Not-for-profit European sport events

Now is the time to start developing project ideas, project partners and applications for applications to be submitted in 2021 !

The Wheel Organisation is also providing support to all organisation on EU funding and projects under its new Access Programme, so will be a helpful resourse to sporting bodies.

Sport Ireland will also provide some support to partner bodies interested in progressing EU funded project, and organisatons are asked to contact innovation and EU funding manager, Cormac MacDonnell on this ( cmacdonnell@sportireland.ie).

DEDICATED TO THE DEDICATED: VOLUNTEERS FROM ALL 32 COUNTIES HONOURED AT THE 2020 FEDERATION OF IRISH SPORT VOLUNTEERS IN SPORT AWARDS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY EBS

Jan 11, 2021

Basketball’s Anne McHale receives Outstanding Achievement Award, with Pat Hooper (RIP) and Daingean GAA honoured with Special Recognition Awards

JANUARY 11^th, 2021: Volunteers from a host of sports from across the 32 counties of Ireland will be honoured this week at the virtual 2020 Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards, proudly supported by EBS Mortgage Masters.

The Volunteers in Sport Awards were created to champion the contribution, commitment and dedication of the army of 450,000 volunteers across the country who go above and beyond by giving their time to Irish sport and physical activity each year.  These volunteers dedicate some 37.2 million hours of volunteering across the country’s 13,000+ sports clubs and associations every year.

Towards the end of 2020, members of the public, as well as sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contributions to sport has made a real difference to their community, club or county. The nominations and award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 11 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, including former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe and CEO of CARA, Niamh Daffy.

In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, basketball stalwart, Anne McHale, of Ballina Braves Boys BC in Mayo, received the overall Outstanding Achievement Award for the many years of tireless service she has given to the sport and the club in Co. Mayo. Olympian Pat Hooper (RIP) was also honoured with a Special Recognition award for his dedication to the sport of athletics. He was a decorated athlete before becoming a dedicated and exceptional coach. His untimely passing in 2020 was felt by the entire athletics community. Daingean GAA (Offaly) has also received a Special Recognition award for their commitment to their community during Covid-19. The group went above and beyond to assist their community and came together to support the most vulnerable members through these challenging times.

Speaking about the awards, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said: “Sport plays a central role in the social fabric of every community in Ireland, yet it would not happen at all without the army of volunteers who dedicate their time and expertise across pitches, courts, tracks, pools and community halls across the country. This year, more than ever before, we have seen just how essential the role of the volunteer is in our local communities and to this end, it will be an honour to be able to recognise so many of these volunteers at this week’s virtual Volunteers in Sport awards. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all of this year’s recipients, and also thank EBS for their amazing support in bringing the awards – and wider recognition – of volunteers in sport in Ireland to life. Thanks also to Minister Jack Chambers who will be taking the time out of his schedule to attend our virtual ceremonies this week and helping us to champion and celebrate the recipients.”

Commenting on the awards, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers, TD, said: “It is a real honour for me to help recognise so many fantastic volunteers in our community at this year’s virtual Volunteers in Sport Awards. I have always admired the hard work and dedication that goes on behind the scenes in sport and physical activity throughout the country, and it is a privilege for me be involved this week to help celebrate so many incredible individuals who give their time and dedication to ensuring that sport in Ireland runs smoothly 365 days of the year. Volunteers are often overlooked, but they are truly the backbone of sport in Ireland and these awards are a superb way to recognise and honour their amazing contribution to their communities. My thanks to the Federation of Irish Sport and EBS and everyone who will no doubt make these virtual ceremonies a memorable occasion for all.”

Chief Executive Officer of EBS, Paul Butler, commented: “EBS is thrilled to partner with the Federation of Irish Sport once more this year to honour and champion so many of our everyday heroes around Ireland who are truly the backbone of Irish sport. EBS has been involved in communities in Ireland for over 80 years and we know that our biggest asset is the people who work with our customers throughout local communities in Ireland. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the recipients of the 2020 Volunteers in Sports Awards and thank them for all of the tireless work they do to ensure sport in Ireland continues to flourish.”

The awards will be streamed live each evening from 7pm on the Federation of Irish Sport’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/federationofirishsport/ with the awards schedule listed below:

• Tuesday, January 12th: Leinster and Special Recognition Award
• Wednesday, January 13th: Munster, Connacht and Special Recognition Award
• Thursday, January 14th: Ulster and Outstanding Achievement Award

For more information on the awards, visit http://www.volunteersinsport.ie/.

ENDS

EBS d.a.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

For further information contact:

Claire Shannon, Wilson Hartnell, claire.shannon@ogilvy.com, 087 126 0924

Mary McGuire, Wilson Hartnell, mary.mcguire@ogilvy.com 087 951 6651

Robert White, Wilson Hartnell, Robert.white@ogilvy.com 086 126 1644

Full list of winners for the 2020 Federation of Irish Sport Volunteer in Sport awards proudly supported by EBS:

Alliance calls on immediate establishment of Garda insurance fraud unit

Jan 8, 2021

Following reports that “A court has struck out the case against a father-of-two who was accused of fraud over a €60,000 road accident injury claim”, “after Dublin District Court heard a book of evidence was not ready” the Alliance for Insurance Reform has accused the State of not taking insurance fraud seriously .

Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “Our members regularly encounter insurance fraud. Fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims have a profound impact on the businesses and services targeted and yet there are virtually no prosecutions for this crime, with fraudsters regularly having their unsustainable claims dismissed but walking away scot-free to claim another day. Yesterday we saw a rare prosecution collapse because the book of evidence was not ready. It is clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously.”

Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Four years after the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and despite a clear commitment from An Garda Síochána in 2019 to a division-led approach, we are no closer today to having a formal Garda response to insurance fraud. As a matter of urgency, Government must ensure the immediate establishment a Garda insurance fraud unit to show some level of commitment to resolving this problem. Further reports and studies are no longer acceptable in addressing this issue.”

ENDS

For further details contact:

Peter Boland

Virtual Volunteers in Sport Awards

Jan 7, 2021

We are pleased to announce that the Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards supported by EBS will take place virtually next week. The ceremony, which serves to highlight, recognise and celebrate the work of our many sport volunteers in Ireland during the year 2020, will be streamed live over three evenings next week.

The ceremony details are as follows:

Tuesday 12^th January @7pm – Leinster County Winners & Special Recognition of Daingean GAA

Wednesday 13^th January @ 7pm – Munster and Connacht County Winners & Special Recognition of Pat Hooper

Thursday 14^th January @ 7pm – Ulster County Winners & Outstanding Achievement Recipient

All three evenings will be streamed live at the below link and across the Federation of Irish Sport Facebook page. We will also have live updates across all of our social channels. This is a flagship event in the Federation of Irish Sport calendar and is a great opportunity to recognise the work of a selection of the thousands of volunteers who volunteer for sport and physical activity each week all around Ireland. If you’d like to join us in celebrating our winners you can do so at the below link and you can get involved in the conversation on social media using #DedicatedToTheDedicated #VolunteerHeroes. Please also feel free to share the link with any members of the sporting community who may wish to tune in to the celebration of our fantastic volunteers.

Live Link – Volunteers in Sport Awards Live

If you cannot join us live, don’t worry! We will have all three evenings available to re-watch at the following link from Friday 15^th January so you can tune in in your own time.

Re-watch Link – Volunteers in Sport Awards

For more information on the Volunteers in Sport Awards please visit www.volunteersinsport.com

We look forward to three evenings of celebration and appreciation of our unsung heroes next week and to continuing our support of sporting volunteers in all codes and counties again in late 2021.

Will 2021 be the year insurance gets sorted? Alliance says that depends on just 5 outcomes

Jan 5, 2021

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has claimed that the insurance crisis can be sorted in 2021 but only if 5 key actions are fully completed.

Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “Nothing the Government has done so far has applied any downward pressure on insurance premiums and for charities, community and voluntary groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs, insurance has been unsustainably expensive now for over 5 years. If Government expects Ireland to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic through SMEs, or for Irish society as a whole to recover through voluntary and community groups, then insurance must and can be sorted in 2021.”

Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “ In the last 4 years we have had the Oireachtas Finance Committee Report on Insurance Costs, two Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) reports and 11 CIWG Updates; the reports of the Personal Injuries Commission, two National Claims Information Database reports from the Central Bank, the CCPC Market Study on Liability Insurance and the Government’s Action Plan on Insurance Reform. What is abundantly clear from these is that if insurance costs are to be brought under control, there are 5 key issues that must be actioned this year:

1. General damages for minor injuries must be dramatically reduced to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal: we await the new personal injuries guidelines to be adopted and published by the Judicial Council, due by 31^st July of this year at the latest. But we have no idea what the new guidelines will look like or when we will get to see them, if at all, before they are adopted by the Courts.
2. Redefine and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate: we await action from the Minister for Justice that will address the situation where many policyholders find themselves 100% liable for accidents regardless of the circumstances.
3. Establish a formal Garda response to insurance fraud: 4 years after the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and despite commitments from An Garda Síochána in 2019 to a division-led approach, we are no closer to having a formal Garda response to insurance fraud.
4. Reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board:  If PIAB is not radically reformed, it will be irrelevant within a decade and the compensation of people injured due to the negligence of others will be a process managed and controlled by the legal profession, for the benefit of the legal profession, with dire consequences for the cost and availability of insurance cover in Ireland. We await urgent proposals for reform and enhancement of PIAB from Minister of State Robert Troy.
5. Produce a schedule of forecast reductions for reforms: we need commitments from the insurance industry that all the reforms being worked on will actually lead to substantial reductions in insurance costs. We await an assessment of the expected impact on premium levels of the reforms being introduced, from Minister of State Sean Fleming.

“There are 66 actions in the Government’s Action Plan on Insurance Reform, but unless these 5  issues are addressed this year, then 2021 will go down as the year insurance could have been sorted, but wasn’t.”

ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie