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The Irish Sports Monitor (2009)
The third annual Irish Sports Monitor report, for the year 2009, is published by the Irish Sports Council. The report, written by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on behalf of the Council, measures adult participation in sport and physical activity and compares it with the previously published information from 2007 & 2008.
The report shows that there were increases in the levels of physical activity in 2009, a recovery from 2008 which was badly affected by the onset of recession. The proportion of adults who actively participated in sport rose significantly between 2008 and 2009, from 30.8% to 33.5%
The proportion who walked regularly also went up, from 57.5% to 60.5%. Overall swimming remained the most popular activity (7.2%) ahead of personal exercise (5.8%) and soccer (5.6%).
Soccer (10.7%) and golf (8.1%) were the most popular activities for men, while swimming (8.5%) and personal exercise (7.1%) were most popular among women
Getting Out What you Put In: An Evaluation of Public Investment in Irish Sport (October 2008)
Achieving value for money in public expenditure is a key issue, whatever the state of the economic cycle. Its importance is even more marked in the present situation. In order to attain this, we must have a clear idea of the objectives of particular expenditure programmes, and of the extent to which the expenditures contribute to these objectives. This is the approach taken by Pete Lunn (ESRI) in assessing the economic returns to public investment in sport, which have increased very substantially over the past decade. The stated aims of Irish sports policy emphasise improvements in health and quality of life. There is, indeed, considerable empirical support for the view that there are significant health and social benefits to be had from participation in sport.
However, the analysis challenges the way current policy addresses three trade-offs in the allocation of resources: the balance between “elite” and “grassroots” sport; the trade-off between investment in sporting facilities (physical capital) and participation programmes (human and social capital); and the allocation of public money across the range of different sporting activities. In each case, the evidence base suggests that the aims of policy could be better served by a reallocation of sports investment which takes recent research findings on sports participation into account.
Getting Out What You Put In: An Evaluation of Public Investment in Irish Sport (October 2008)
Sporting Lives: An Analysis of a Lifetime of Irish Sport (April 2008)
This report takes a longer-term perspective on Irish Sport and in particular how participation in sport and exercise in Ireland has changed over recent decades and how it varies across the life course, using data from more than 3,000 Irish adults surveyed in 2003. It found that the number of people engaged in exercise activities has increased dramatically, particularly in the last twenty years. Playing sport improves people's health, but having played sport in the past means people are more likely to enjoy good current health too. The research also found that many people drop out from team sports as teenagers and young adults, especially girls while individual sports are played much more into adulthood. The report also highlights the gap in different socio-economic groups with people in higher groups much more likely to participate throughout the life course.
Sporting Lives: An Analysis of a Lifetime of Irish Sport
Proceedings of Second PE PAYS Forum (2007)
This publication includes a number of research papers presented at the Second PE PAYS forum in University of Limerick in 2007. The papers cover a range of issues dealing with children's involvement in sport, physical education and physical activity including the use of assessment and its implications in PE, teachers' perspectives on teaching PE, physical activity levels of 7 - 9 year olds and best practices and challenges in the provision of physical activity for adolescent girls
Proceedings of Second PE PAYS Forum
The Ballpark Figures Publication (2006)
The Irish Sports Council believes passionately in the value of sport and its potential to make a contribution to an enhanced quality of life of all citizens. This publication seeks to understand how the sports sector operates in Ireland and assess its impact and importance to our society. It also raises important policy questions for the future development of sport.
Pictured: O. Kilkenny, J. Treacy, Mr. M. Cullen T.D., Dr. Lunn & Prof. Layte
School Children & Sport in Ireland (2005)
This report examines children's participation in physical education, extra-curricular sport and extra school sport using data from more than 7,000 children and over 200 principals in primary and secondary level schools in 2004. It assesses the impact of a range of factors that affect participation and draws implications for policy. It found that children's PE time falls well below the recommended level of 120 minutes per week and that PE activity is dominated by a limited number of team sports.
Most of children's activity was accounted for by extra-curricular sport and extra school sport which was again dominated by a limited number of team sports. Television viewing was found to have a negative impact on participation while there was no association found between overweight and physical activity.
School Children & Sport in Ireland (2005)
Social & Economic Value of Sport in Ireland (October 2005)
This report examines the impact of social and economic value of sport in Ireland, using data from more than 3,000 Irish adults surveyed in 2003. The purpose of this report is to enhance our knowledge of the social dimensions of sport in Ireland and highlight their significance for public policy. Specifically the report focuses on four major social aspects of sport, namely, volunteering, subscriptions to sports clubs, attendance at sports events and the costs of playing sport. It was found that these four aspects have a combined economic value of approximately €1.4 billion, which is 1.26 percent of GNP in 2003.
Social & Economic Value of Sport in Ireland (October 2005)
White Paper on Sport
To acknowledge the increasing social and economic role of sport in the European Union, the European Commission decided to prepare a White Paper on Sport.
Based on extensive consultations, the White Paper gives an overview of the current state of play and provides strategic orientation on the role of sport in the European Union
