Minister of State, Jack Chambers, TD: Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

Check against delivery

Go raibh míle maith agat a Chathaoirligh. Táim an-sásta bheith anseo inniu chun chur in iúil daoibh ár mbeartas in aghaidh an Chovid. Labhróidh mé faoi cursaí spóirt, an Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeltacht.

Impact of the Pandemic

As my colleague Minister Martin has already demonstrated, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have had a very deep and very significant impact on Sports in Ireland. At level 5, we have seen the effective cessation of all sporting activity, other than at the elite and professional level and in respect of small-scale training for school-aged children, with consequent impacts on the revenues of our national governing bodies of sport, on employment in the commercial gyms and leisure sector, and, most critically, on the wellbeing of individuals and teams across the country.

As with communities across the country, our Gaeltacht communities continue to struggle with the impacts of the pandemic. Brexit, coupled with the economic impact of the pandemic, will put further pressure on Gaeltacht enterprises which will need our continued support in the weeks and months ahead. Officials from my Department continue to work closely with Údarás na Gaeltachta to ensure that we put in place timely and appropriate measures to protect our Gaeltacht economies. These communities are also struggling from the loss of vital tourism and educational visitors.

Measures introduced to mitigate against the pandemic

Earlier on this year, my Department implemented a COVID support package worth €4.7m aimed at ensuring the maintenance of the Irish summer colleges sector. Since the formation of this Government, Minister Martin and I have been working tirelessly with Government colleagues to mitigate against the worst of the COVID-19 impacts.

To that end, in July we announced an additional €8m for Údarás Na Gaeltachta bringing the total capital allocation to €18 million. This additional funding is supporting a range of capital investments which will enhance an tÚdarás’ capacity to support local enterprises and is currently creating 40-50 new construction jobs throughout the Gaeltacht. It is expected that the investment will support the creation of 320 new longer-term jobs in client-companies of Údarás na Gaeltachta.

As part of our continued support for the language, 2020 has seen increased funding for the language planning process and the Gaeltacht Community and Language Supports Programme. In addition to this, further funding of €250,000 has been be provided to Ealaín na Gaeltachta to provide a significant number of bursaries for Gaeltacht-based artists.

I intend to maintain this momentum in 2021 with the provision of significant additional funding for the Gaeltacht and the Irish language under Budget 2021. Next year will see over €78m allocated for the Gaeltacht and Irish language sector – an increase of €14.8m on the initial 2020 allocation. This includes a total of €31.8m to allow Údarás na Gaeltachta to invest in Gaeltacht communities. An Foras Teanga will also see its first programme funding increase since 2016, with an additional allocation of €1.799m provided for North South co-operation next year. I should also point out that, in addition to the €78m allocated under the Department’s Gaeltacht and Irish Language programmes, TG4 will receive an increase of €3.5 million under the Department’s media programme bringing its 2021 allocation to almost €41 million. This represents a recognition of TG4’s significant contribution to the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language.

For the language outside of the Gaeltacht, I have announced an additional allocation of €1 million to expand the Department’s Language Support schemes, as well as an investment of €2 million in capital investment for the development of Irish Language and Cultural Centres nationwide.

There has been extensive engagement with the sport sector over the past number of months which has highlighted the significant, adverse impact of COVID-19 at all levels of the Irish sporting landscape. A COVID-19 Sports Monitoring Group, chaired at Ministerial level, has been established to engage directly with the sporting bodies. An Expert Group on Return to Sport, chaired by an official of my Department, has also been established to provide advice and guidance to sporting bodies. Sport Ireland is also directly engaging with sporting bodies on an ongoing basis.

On Monday, Minister Martin and I were delighted to announce the allocation of funding support of €85 million to help mitigate some of the impact COVID-19 has had this year across Irish sport. The additional funding disbursed by Sport Ireland will address the existential threat to National Governing Bodies and their club networks, allowing sports organisations to off-set losses incurred during the pandemic. This investment will reach all levels of the sport sector with National Governing Bodies, Local Sports Partnerships and thousands of grassroots clubs across Ireland set to benefit. The funding package includes:

• Support of over €30 million for Gaelic games, including a special allocation of €15 million for the 2020 Championships;

• €18 million to support the IRFU and rugby clubs throughout the country;

• €13 million to support the FAI and soccer clubs nationwide;

• Grant support of almost €15 million to other National Governing Bodies of sport and their affiliated clubs;

• Additional funding of over €2.4 million for the Local Sports Partnerships and other stakeholders to support innovative projects to keep us active in these difficult times, and for local small grants schemes.

The Government recognises that the current public health measures are challenging, however I hope that the imminent disbursement of these funds will assist the sporting bodies and clubs to plan for better times next year.

Under budget 2021, we are providing a further €36 million to Sport Ireland over and above their initial 2020 allocation, bringing their 2021 allocation to almost €105 million. We have also agreed an increase of €2 million in Dormant Accounts funding for Sport allocation, bringing it to €10 million, and we will soon open a new round of the Sports Capital Programme which will offer important opportunities for clubs across the country to enhance their facilities.

The universal income supports of PUP and the wage subsidy scheme, as well as the new COVID Restrictions Support Scheme have been and will continue to be critical in supporting all sectors including Sport and the Gaeltacht through this crisis.

Strategic Priorities as we prepare for Recovery

As my colleague Minister Martin pointed out, as well as dealing with this current crisis, we must also look to the recovery across our sectors. For my part, I am committed to using this time in Government to advance the overall implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language through the actions contained in the five year Action Plan for the language.

From a legislative perspective, 2020 will see us progress the Official Language (Amendment) Bill 2019 through the Houses of the Oireachtas to further enhance the use of the language within our Public Sector.

I also welcome the resumption of the North South Ministerial Council, and am looking forward to working with colleagues in Northern Ireland and in the Language Body over the coming years to deliver their work programmes. Budget 2021 included commitments for increased funding for North South initiatives, including funding for commitments made by Government under the "New Decade New Approach" agreement.

In terms of Sport, our immediate priority will be to support sporting organisations and athletes in getting back to training and competing. However, over the medium term we will be very busy working with stakeholders across the sector to work out ways of meeting our target of 60% of the population participating in sport by 2027. We are also committed to developing a High-Performance Strategy which will support and enhance Ireland’s position internationally. A third strand of our work for the future is to enhance the governance capacity of the sector in partnership with the National Governing Bodies and other stakeholders. We will also continue to improve the facilities available for everybody who wants to participate in sport through new rounds of the Sports Capital Programme and progressing projects under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund.

Thank you for your time and attention, I am happy to take any questions you may have now.

Go raibh maith agaibh.