The role of athletes in creating sports policies and cross-sectoral cooperation for promoting sport and physical activity in schools were among the issues which Donegal Minister of State, Charlie McConalogue, spoke on at yesterday’s Sports Council in Brussels.
He was speaking after his first such meeting since taking up the role of Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy.
Minister McConalogue said “It was a good opportunity to engage with ministerial counterparts. There were some good agenda items discussed with all other ministers, in particular the importance of how we can learn from one another in relation to sport and its integration in relation to education,” Minister McConalogue said.
“We also had discussion around the importance of ensuring that athletes are at the centre of sports policy, and how we can learn from each other at European level to make sure that athletes influence how policy is developed so that it has the best possible impact on all our communities. Today’s Sports Council was both positive and productive,” he added.
He said he is also looking forward to Ireland holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026.
He added “As part of our preparation for that, I intend to meet my ministerial counterparts from the presidencies just after ours, Lithuania and Greece, to talk about our shared priorities,” Minister McConalogue commented.
“In Ireland, we want to see deepening cooperation between schools and communities, including sports clubs, to ensure that facilities are used to their fullest. We know that there are opportunities here and we want to harness them to ensure that these facilities are not left empty over school holidays or weekends.
“The Active School Flag Programme, which I have had the pleasure of seeing in action all over the country, is an exemplar of a cross-sectoral cooperation initiative, which aims to get ‘More Schools. More Active. More Often’,” he added.
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