Council independent by 1999

Ireland's First independent statutory body dealing with sport, the Irish Sports Council or Comhairle Spoirt, should be up and running by the middle of next year.

The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr Jim McDaid, yesterday announced the publication of the Irish Sports Council Bill, which will hopefully give the body an independent standing and allow it to operate without undue interference from whatever Government is in power. The transition to an independent body should be finalised by the middle of next year. The Bill provides for the establishment of a body exclusively dedicated to the promotion and development of sport throughout the country which will have a permanent chief executive and a professional team of administrators. It is currently headed by former athlete and Olympic silver medallist John Treacy under the auspices of the Department of Tourism and Sport.

The new body was born out of the report "Targeting Sporting Change in Ireland", which was published in 1997. The report recognised the complete lack of structure and the ad hoc arrangement of sports administration in Ireland. Ways of funding the broad range of sports throughout the country were impossibly complex. There was no coherent strategy in place for the provision of funds to sport or for the development of an organised sports infrastructure.

The new body promises to carry out such a project with the new legislation also providing for a broadening of the role of the council beyond that of advising Ministers. It will encompass executive functions including many currently carried out by the Department of Tourism and Sport. The graded carding scheme for elite athletes is one such change made by John Treacy and his team. Athletes are now ranked from Catherina McKiernan and Sonia O'Sullivan standard of "world class" downwards are funded accordingly.

The new Bill sets out the wide-ranging functions of the council.

To encourage the promotion, development and co-ordination of competitive sport and the achievement of excellence therein.

To develop strategies for increasing participation in recreational sport and for co-ordinating their implementation.

To facilitate standards of good conduct and fair play in competitive sport through the promulgation of guidelines and codes of practice.

To take appropriate action to combat doping in sport.

To initiate and encourage research in sport.

To facilitate research and disseminate information on sport where appropriate.

To perform any additional functions which the Minister may confer on the council.

Funding of the body will be, as in the past, the lynchpin of its future success. Funds for the Irish Sports Council will be provided by the Oireachtas and come through the Minister. The new anti-doping measures, which are to be introduced at the beginning of 1999, have been given priority status by the council. This area, particularly, can be an expensive business.

The Irish Sports Council have stated that they hope to carry out around 600 tests a year through accredited laboratories abroad. They will be inviting tenders for the testing procedures once the Bill has gone through the Dail.