Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
373. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media what funding is available to national governing bodies of sport to support the implementation of cardiac screening to athletes free of charge funder the age of 18 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18858/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra374. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of defibrillators located in sports clubs throughout the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18859/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 373 and 374 together.
While neither my Department nor Sport Ireland provides direct funding for cardiac screening or defibrillators there are grant opportunities and other supports within sport that clubs can avail of.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Grants are available for a wide variety of capital works and non-personal sports equipment including first aid kits and defibrillators.
Local Sports Partnerships have a presence in every county in the country and they provide a variety of educational and training opportunities to local sports clubs and community groups. Among these offerings are first aid workshops, which commonly include CPR and/or defibrillator training.
Through Dormant Account funding, Sport Ireland provides specific funding streams for National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships focusing on volunteer supports, through which bodies can apply for funding specifically to support these types of training.
Defibrillators can improve a person’s survival chances following sudden cardiac arrest and their availability can be an important part of the medical response. I would encourage all NGBs to support their clubs in their efforts to purchase defibrillators.
I am aware that a lot of important work is happening already. The three large field sports have dedicated programmes in place in relation to cardiac care, screening and defibrillator training.
A number of NGBs also have schemes in place to support their club networks in relation to cardiac care, screening and defibrillator training. The GAA’s Community Heart Programme, the FAI’s Heart Care Programme and the IRFU’s Safe Rugby programme are excellent examples of proactive supports to assist clubs and members to participate safely in sport.
While my Department does not hold information on the number of defibrillators located in sports clubs throughout the country, Sport Ireland has led on the development of the national digital database of sport and recreation amenities, Get Ireland Active. Authoritative data were collected from across sectors such as sport, state agencies and local authorities. While information on the location of defibrillators was not collected at this point due to difficulties in ensuring accuracy of those data, Sport Ireland hopes that it will be possible to include such data in the future.
