Minister of State for Sport Michael Ring has said the findings of major new research on participation in sport are “very worrying” for the collective health of the State’s citizens.
Mr Ring made the remarks at the publication of Keeping Them in the Game: Taking Up and Dropping Out of Sport and Exercise in Ireland, which was conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute for the Irish Sports Council.
“Some of the findings in it are very worrying for health in the country,” he said. “I hope we can make an effort now to do something and try and deal with it.”
The Minister called for increased investment in sport as “money put into sport is an investment in health, an investment in the country, and the future of people’s health”.
He said he would use the report to inform policy and direct investment.
The research takes as its starting point that the predominant concern for society and sports policy is to increase the proportion of the population who engage in physical activity. This is due to "compelling evidence" that low levels of physical activity increase the likelihood of developing serious degenerative diseases.
Physical education
Among the main recommendations in the report is for physical education to be made an examinable subject in schools. This would "reduce the perceived conflict between participation in sport and exercise and obtaining good exam results". Mr Ring said he was in favour of the proposal and that talks with the Department of Education to that effect are ongoing.
The research finds that “the greater policy challenge” for sports is not getting children involved but “maintaining the involvement” of teenagers and young adults.
Given present trends, about half of 10-12 year olds involved in sport will drop out over the next 10 to 20 years.
It singles out cycling and "especially" swimming as areas where greater investment is merited. This is because people are more likely to stay involved in these sports. "In effect, the return to any investment made by policymakers, teachers and parents in teaching these skills at a young age, in terms of future health benefits across the life-course, is likely to be higher than the return to teaching most other skills."
Gaelic games
The problem of dropping out is said to be "particularly acute" for Gaelic games and the report suggests the GAA should investigate the matter further. "Why do participants in Gaelic games not connect with other clubs when they move to new life stages or new areas? Can something be done within the GAA to promote such ongoing contact and reduce the high rate of drop- out?"
The report says a lack of sports facilities is “not an important factor” and claims there is “no apparent relationship” between the “relatively large” sums invested in facilities over recent decades and levels of participation in those sports that received most funding.
“Policies that rest on the idea that more and better facilities will result in higher participation rates are, straightforwardly, not informed by evidence but by other considerations.
“In the context of Ireland’s fiscal crisis, cuts to the sports budget have been applied more to funding for facilities than to other areas of sports policy. Given the primary goals of policy, this is in line with evidence. What limited funding is available ought to be directed at programmes more likely to increase participation.”
The report suggests achieving this through local clubs and with a focus on overcoming time constraints and exploiting social connections.
“It may be important to account for the role of social networks, perhaps by aiming to engage groups rather than individuals or by exploiting existing social networks to entice people to try something new.”
