More women, volunteers needed in sport, says minister

SPORTS Minister John O’Donoghue is to table Cabinet proposals to protect sport’s endangered species — volunteers and women.

The Minister is seeking Government backing for a novel proposal to rescue volunteerism from the clutches of the Celtic Tiger. And Mr O'Donoghue also admitted he is "very concerned" at the participation levels of women in sport in Ireland.

Obesity, he said, was not the only serious lifestyle concern facing this and the next generation.

"One of the biggest issues we have to tackle in Ireland is the issue of volunteerism," he said. "I would worry about the future willingness of the men and women who go out every Sunday morning and put down flags or hang nets.

"The shortage of volunteers in various sports is clearly a result of our economic advancement, as the country becomes more materialistic, and sadly, less community orientated. Whenever that happens, volunteerism is affected."

The Minister said there was a real need "to lift the status of the volunteer in Irish society onto a new plane."

He explained: "There is very strong merit in the case for a national awards system for volunteers. Our Department officials are giving serious thought to a set of proposals we can bring to Government.

"There are disadvantaged parts of urban Ireland where volunteerism has totally disappeared. There would still appear to be a high level of volunteerism in the GAA, where people remain after their siblings have stopped playing. But that isn't the case in other sports.

"People talk about finance and infrastructure for sport, but they aren't the biggest challenge going forward volunteerism is, and it's something we have to address by bringing proposals to Government that will tackle the issue across all sports."

The Sports Minister also expressed concern at falling levels of women in sport, and has pledged to attract women into sport by looking benignly on women's group applications under the capital grants programme.

Mr O'Donoghue admitted: "For as long as you are going to have fellas togging out at the side of ditches, you can't expect women to participate. We are going to see how we can best incentivise women in sport.

"That's why I gave additional funding to Basketball Ireland because there is a high level of female participation in the sport. But there's an awful lot of other outlets where their talents can flourish too."