Activities Report 2015 – 2016
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Federation of Irish Sport AGM, July 27th 2016 Activities Report 2015 – 2016 The Federation of Irish Sport is the representative body for Ireland’s sporting organisations, representing over 100 National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Sports Partnerships nationwide Federation of Irish Sport Board of Directors: Chairperson: David Williams Company Secretary: Sarah Keane, CEO, Swim Ireland Ciarán Gallagher, CEO, Gymnastics Ireland Hamish Adams, CEO, Rowing Ireland Harry Hermon, CEO, Irish Sailing Association John Holian, Finance Director, Athletics Ireland Liam Harbison, CEO, Paralympics Ireland Roddy Guiney, Chairman, Wilson Hartnell Sarah O’Shea, Football Association of Ireland Aideen O’Connor, Dublin City Sport & Wellbeing Partnership (Aideen has tendered her resignation to the Board, which will take effect following the AGM) Federation of Irish Sport Staff: Chief Executive Officer: James Galvin Business Services Manager: Emira O’Neill Office Manager:Elaine Mooney Communications Executive: Cian Murray Federation of Irish Sport Partners: Federation of Irish Sport Preferred Suppliers: 2 Our Vision: “To provide a dynamic and effective voice for Irish sport, promoting the value of sport to Ireland while providing outstanding representation and services to members” 3 Introduction from Chairperson David Williams The result of the 2016 General Election has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the Irish political landscape. For the first time, we see a Fine Gael & Independents minority government lead the country, and only time will tell what effect, if any, this will have on Irish sport. The early signs, however, have been positive, as the interaction between the Federation and the new Ministers and their staff has already been plentiful. We are confident that it will continue in this manner. David Williams, Chairperson Earlier this year we saw a €3 million boost to sport funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport. This increase, combined with the €1 million increase from the 2015 Budget, sees the Federation take a further step towards its objective of seeing current funding for sport return to the 2008 peak of €57 million by 2021. Since being elected, the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Shane Ross TD, has also committed to developing a 10-year National Sports Policy Framework. There is no doubting we still have a long way to go but, nonetheless, these are welcome developments. Strides have also been made in the area of physical activity, with the Department working towards implementing at least two hours of mandatory sport and/or physical activity per week in schools through the National Physical Activity Plan. The Federation is also continuing to lobby on behalf of our members for tax reliefs for Irish sporting bodies. The 2016 Annual Conference – the Federation’s flagship event - took place on the 26th May at Croke Park. This year’s theme was ‘Building Leadership Capabilities in Sport’, and the keynote address was delivered by the fantastic John Steele, Executive Director of Sport at Loughborough University and Chairman of the English Institute of Sport. Minister Ross also spoke at the conference, addressing his plans for Irish sport in what was his first address to NGBs and But this wasn’t our only event since the last AGM, as the Federation has hosted several others. The inaugural Sport Industry Awards took place in November at Smock Alley Theatre, and the feedback we received has confirmed that it was a rousing success. Just Sport Ireland (JSI) hosted its first conference in February, which was aimed at educating members on JSI procedures. Our partners Fáilte 4 Ireland hosted a Media & Marketing Workshop at Irish Sport HQ in March, which was well attended by our members. In our Pre-Budget Submission – A Manifesto for Irish Sport –the Federation, having listened to the concerns of our members, outlined the key objectives to ensure Ireland’s sporting future. We represented these objectives at the party Ard Fheiseanna prior to the election, where we highlighted the many positives that sport can bring to Irish society. Following the election of the new Cabinet, we acted fast in reaching out to both Minister Ross and Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport, both of whom accepted our invitations to attend our Annual Conference despite being only just in the door. We followed that up with further meetings with both Ministers, who were keen to get a good grasp on Irish sporting issues. On behalf of the Federation, I would like to congratulate both Minister Ross and Minister O’Donovan on their new roles. We look forward to working with both in the coming months. The Federation also took part in a number of initiatives, all of which are aimed at promoting sport and physical activity amongst the general population. One such initiative was the Active Schools Flag, which is run with the support of the Department of Education. We are also still involved with the Coca Cola Thank You Fund, who in the past has provided huge cash grants to outstanding sporting organisations. Our services to members have also continued to develop over the past year. We launched our new website in May and we continue to issue our monthly newsletter to members, Government departments, media and other key stakeholders. There are now 64 NGBs who have inserted JSI into their governing rules, and our group insurance scheme now has almost 30 different sports on board. Finally, a total of 354 vets have been processed to date through the Federation’s Garda Vetting Facility. Since the last AGM, there have been some changes to the make-up of our Board. Both Warren Deutrom and Aideen O’Connor have made the decision to step down from the Board. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Warren and Aideen for their contribution to the Federation and wish them all the best for the future. The Board also made the decision to co-opt Roddy Guiney, Chairman of Wilson Hartnell, on to the Board for his expertise in public relations and communications. 5 Roddy’s appointment will be ratified by members at the AGM. I would like to thank Roddy for accepting our invitation to join the Board and I look forward to working alongside him in the future. The Federation has also had a number of changes to staff since our last AGM. James Galvin has replaced Sarah O’Connor as Chief Executive Officer. Sarah left towards the end of last year after eight years in the role. I would like to thank Sarah for her commitment to the Federation and I wish her well in the future. Likewise, I would like to thank James for accepting our offer to take over from Sarah, as he leads the Federation into a new and exciting era. Conn McCluskey also decided to leave his post as Business Services Manager, so I would also like to thank him for his work with the Federation and wish him well in his new role as CEO of Ireland Active. Emira O’Neill has come in to replace him, and I wish her all the best in this new role. And finally, having consulted the 2015-2016 Communications Plan, the Board agreed to create a new ‘Communications Executive’ role within the Federation. Cian Murray was brought in to fill this position in February. Further details of the nature and scale of our activities are set out in the pages that follow. So I would like to wrap-up by thanking my fellow Board Members and the Federation staff for their continued commitment. With significant changes to the Federation presenting a challenge to our new staff, I would like everyone to recognise the efforts of James, Emira, Elaine and Cian in delivering so much for us. Thanks are also due to the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and Sport Ireland for their continued support, along with our commercial partners and, of course, our members. The Federation of Irish Sport is hugely dependent on your respective contributions, so we are forever grateful for your backing. Yours in sport, David Williams Chairperson 6 Sport Matters Pre-Budget Submission – A Manifesto for Irish Sport In October, the Federation released our 2015 Pre-Budget Submission. The document, called ‘A Manifesto for Irish Sport’, outlined five key building blocks to ensure Ireland’s sporting future. These were: 1. The development and implementation of a National Sports Policy 2. To restore sport funding to 2008 levels by 2021 3. The introduction of a tax relief on donations made to sporting bodies 4. A commitment to making at least two hours of sport and physical activity per week mandatory in schools 5. The development of a dedicated sports-bidding entity to assist sporting organisations in bringing international events to Ireland A Manifesto for Irish Sport launch at Leinster House Annual Review of Irish Sport 2015 The Federation’s Annual Review of Irish Sport was published on the 16th December, 2015. The review highlighted the wide and varied contribution of sport to Irish society in areas such as health, the economy and enhancing Ireland’s reputation worldwide. The review also outlined the achievements and hopes for the future for each of our member organisations. It also showcased the contribution our members have 7 made to the promotion of sport, physical activity, personal health and wellbeing, social inclusion and the economy over the course of 2015. The Federation issued the review to all of the key stakeholders for sport, including the Taoiseach, the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport, Senators and TDs with an interest in sport, our members, the media and a number of commercial supporters and sponsors. The launch of the Federation’s 2015 Annual Review of Irish Sport National Physical Activity Plan The National Physical Activity Plan was launched in January by the then Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Paschal Donohoe and Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring.