THE publication of the national plan for sport - Targeting Sporting Change in Ireland, 1997-2006 and Beyond The Strategic Plan - held at least one surprise yesterday when it was disclosed that it recommends the elevation of sport to a seat at the cabinet table as part of a ministry embracing tourism and travel.

The proposal which didn't figure in earlier leaks to the media, is identical to that tabled by Fianna Fail in their policy document last month.

Among the recommendations of the national plan, is one that sport's share of the National Lottery surplus funds should be increased to 25 per cent.

John Treacy, as had been widely predicted, emerged as the pivotal personality in the long-term planning for Irish sport. His appointment as executive chairman of the Irish Sports Council was confirmed by the Minister for Sport, Bernard Allen, who also announced a proposal to invest the council with statutory powers.

The big loser in the new order of things will be the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).

Speculation that the OCI - and its controversial chairman, Pat Hickey - would be divested of one of its most important roles, as the conduit for state funding, in sport, proved accurate.

It has now been relegated to a relatively minor role. In a revised scheme, it will be expected to report to a body known as the High Performance Advisory Committee. In response to questions, Treacy said it was envisaged that this committee will be chaired by a member of the Irish Sports Council and that it will include a representative of the Olympic Council of Ireland.

But does this mean that, effectively, the OCI's hand has been loosened from the purse strings?

The Minister, straining to pick his words judiciously, delivered his answer in suitably grave tones.

"They will be part of the decision-making process, as they should be, but linked to that, the various national governing bodies who represent athletes will also have a say. I'm being positive. when I say that there will now be a wider input into decision making and the Olympic Council will not be overlooked in this.

"Let me also dismiss the notion that this document is weighted against any individual or organisation. It is not my report, it is not John Treacy's report. It is that of the people of the country who, based on 300 submissions and countless meetings, have indicated that this is the way they wish to see Irish sport develop."

Ironically, the decision to strip the OCI of one of its most important functions runs counter to thinking in Britain. There, in the wake of Britain's worst Olympic performance in years at the Atlanta Games, responsibility for advising on funding has been taken from the Sports Council and given to the National Olympic Committee. Hickey is making. some capital of the fact that after Ireland's best-ever Games, Allen is now intent on moving in the opposite direction.

Forewarned of the strategy group's recommendations and the Minister's intention of implementing them, the OCI is already on record as saying that it will not be part of a committee in which the numbers are stacked against it.

In that, they remain constant. However, Hickey said last night that their response, when it comes will be measured and designed to tie in with the needs of its 27 constituent members.

If the downgrading of the OCI was predictable, the recommendations relating to full ministry status for sport and the investment of statutory powers for the Irish Sports Council were certainly not.

The need to give sport a higher-profile when it comes to bargaining for government funds had been identified from a long way back. Equally, there was a demand among the public for a Sports Council with teeth.

Introducing a lavish 109-page document which demanded top admiration of even the most critical, Allen described it as pragmatic rather than aspirational. Soon, however, we discovered that it was, in fact, a mixture of the two and when it came down to the nitty gritty, very much aspirational.

The Minister was asked if Fine Gael in government, singly or in coalition, after the next general election, would commit itself to the establishment of a sports ministry.

"That is the function of the Taoiseach of the day," he responded. "I am not in the business of making false promises, even in election year, but what I do pledge, is to work earnestly to deliver everything in the document."

Likewise, the Minister, who is widely perceived as one of the more able sports ministers of recent times, wasn't making any simplistic statements about National Lottery funds. The report calls for an allocation of 25 per cent of surplus lottery funding and he said, dutifully, that he would work towards this goal.

Those with hidden agendas muttered that from a situation in which the last Fianna Fail government had apportioned 22.7 per cent of the surplus to sport, the percentage had fallen from 16.50 to 15.61 to 14.65 per cent in the last three years of the coalition administration.

The response to that was that in the opposition party's policy document, Fianna Fail couldn't find it in itself to match the 25 per cent figure which, it ought to be stressed, is the recommendation of the Strategy Report Group rather than articulated Government or Fine Gael policy.

Both the Minister and John Treacy were on much safer ground when they specified the six primary areas of their strategy report. These are sport for young people; recreational sport; high performance sport; facilities and natural resources; sports training and development; sport coordination and leadership.

As part of a range of new initiatives in high performance sport, a player/athlete carding system will be introduced to provide access to funding, training facilities, sports sciences, medical back-up, physiological testing and coaching.

A Women in Sport Group is to be set up immediately to report on and address the key issues impacting on women and their involvement in sport.

Announcing the appointment of a representative of the Sports Council of Northern Ireland to the Irish Sports Council, Allen said there was a perceived requirement for a group to co-ordinate and develop sports policies on an all-Ireland basis. The provision of Ireland's first 50-metre swimming pool, fell within this ambit.

The importance of sport for young people was stressed in many of the submissions to the Strategy Group. To take account of this, two national sports officers will be appointed to develop and co-ordinate special programmes and initiatives.

It is also proposed to enhance the role of the Institute for Leisure Amenity Management, while an anti-drugs campaign, undertaken in conjunction with the Sports Council For Northern Ireland, will include testing and educational programmes.