Children ‘in danger’ after Government stops grant for schools sports equipment

PRIMARY schools are using old, unsafe sports equipment because the Government has cut its annual funding, teachers warned yesterday.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey said he decided to stop payment of the Physical Education and Sports Grant of €2.5m for this year because of constraints in the last budget.

The scheme gave each school an annual payment of €635 to spend on equipment and coaching, with disadvantaged schools receiving €1,270.

Teachers believe the move could delay the introduction of a structured PE curriculum for primary schools, due to begin next year.

Tony Sweeney, a member of the Irish Primary Physical Education Association, said schools haven’t even been told officially about the grant being stopped.

“Many schools had already bought equipment and sports gear, expecting that the cheque would be arriving soon. Now, they will have to find the money elsewhere, even though there are enough pressures for fundraising,” Mr Sweeney said.

“The equipment being used in many schools is decades old, often there since the building first opened. By its nature, this kind of equipment can get broken very easily, making it dangerous unless it is replaced,” he said.

Mr Sweeney, a teacher at St Colmcille’s Junior School in Knocklyon in Dublin, said the equipment and sporting facilities in disadvantaged schools were basic.

“Their needs are much greater and some of them were only starting to get equipment for the first time since the first grant was paid in October 2000,” he said.

A spokesperson for Mr Dempsey said, while there would be no grant this year, it was hoped it might be reintroduced next year.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said the Government should re-instate the grant immediately.

“Irish people take pride in the achievements of our athletes, footballers and hurlers, but tomorrow’s sports stars are in our primary schools today. Children’s sport demands government support, it should not be dependent on cake sales and raffles,” an INTO spokesman said.

Former education minister Michael Woods set up a task force on primary schools sports two years ago, after a study showed more than one-third of children did not take part in school sports. The group, chaired by former Dublin footballer Charlie Redmond, is to report to Mr Dempsey later this year.