Wicklow Sports & Recreation Partnership Committee
Carol Coad
Chair
Charlie Batt
Vice Chair
Cllr. Paul O’Brien
Fionnuala Curry
Phyllis Farrell
Dominic Gunshenan
Cllr. Gerry Walsh
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Michael Nicholson
Mai Quaid
Lorna Kelly
Dr. Emer O’Leary
Garda Niall Kennedy
Paula Prunty
Lorraine Dunne
Strategic Plans
We are pleased to introduce you to Wicklow Sport and Recreation Partnership strategic plan 2020 to 2023. Its vision is getting “More people enjoying taking part”.
By collaborating with the people of Wicklow, sports clubs, and organisations we believe that this ambitious strategy reflects the needs of our community to promote, develop and support physical activity.
The strategy plays an important key role at a regional level while being guided by national policies such as Sports Ireland Strategic Plan (2018-2022), Healthy Ireland Action Plan (2019-2023), and the National Sports Policy (2018-2027).
This action plan sets out our ambition for outdoor recreation in County Wicklow, and the steps to realise it.
Vision
The consultation process highlighted the value of what we have and how it might be enhanced by respecting the underlying ecosystem, growing the culture of being outdoors, and by having more quality outdoors opportunities for people in County Wicklow. Enriched outdoor recreation experiences, culture and ecosystem – Everyone In, Everyone Outdoors.
Our Mission
The mission of the County Wicklow Outdoor Recreation Committee is to bring us closer to this vision of Everyone Out. We believe that properly valuing the outdoors is central to our future actions. Valuing the experiences, valuing the outdoor recreation environment and securing the economic value required to sustain and grow outdoor recreation in our county.
The aim of this Plan is to increase physical activity levels across the entire population thereby improving the health and wellbeing of people living in Ireland, where everybody will be physically active and where everybody lives, works and plays in a society that facilitates, promotes and supports physical activity and an active way of life with less time spent being sedentary.
Some groups of people living in Ireland may also face different barriers to accessing opportunities to be physically active. People experiencing social or economic disadvantage are often the least active or the most sedentary and may experience other health risks due to their diets, social connectedness or other behaviours. This Plan seeks to ensure that no group is disadvantaged and recognises that targeted interventions are required to address and overcome barriers to participation which are experienced by some people.
While most people already realise that physical activity is good for them, many people may not realise quite how beneficial it is and experience barriers to becoming active.
This Plan is not just about telling people to do more physical activity because it is good for them, it is about:
- creating increased opportunities for people to be active in ways which fit in to everyday lives and which suits individual needs, circumstances and interests
- removing the barriers which people face to being active and encouraging people to recognise how to overcome those barriers
- enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation at national, local and community level to encourage physical activity at every level
- encouraging a supportive environment where physical activity becomes normal
- promoting good practice and finding new models of participation which get more people active
A Healthy Ireland, where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential, where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society and is everyone’s responsibility.
Healthy Ireland is designed to bring about real, measurable change and is based on an understanding of the determinants of health. Health and wellbeing are affected by all aspects of a person’s life; economic status, education, housing, the physical environment in which people live and work. Health and wellbeing are also affected by policy decisions taken by Government, the individual choices people make about how they live, and the participation of people in their communities.
This understanding calls for a partnership approach in all of the actions set out in the Framework. Healthy Ireland is designed to harness the energy, creativity and expertise of everyone whose work promotes health and wellbeing, and encourages all sectors of society to get involved in making Ireland a healthier place to live, work and play.
The Framework describes four high-level goals and details 64 actions that will work together to help achieve these goals.
Goal 1: Increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life
Goal 2: Reduce health inequalities
Goal 3: Protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing
Goal 4: Create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a healthy Ireland
Sport Ireland
Every day in communities across the country, Sport Ireland through its network of Local Sports Partnerships helps people to get active and removes barriers to sport and physical activity.
The network is made up of 29 Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) who are passionate about getting Ireland physically active, involved in sport and ensuring everyone in the community has the chance to be included.
Working with trusted professionals and valued volunteers the LSP network engages communities across the country to deliver inclusive, impactful and sustainable opportunities tailored to local needs, getting Ireland more physically active, involved in sport and improving the mental and physical health of the nation.
The opportunities LSPs create to engage in physical activity and sport are inclusive and available to all abilities.
In 2020 over 340,000 people from communities across Ireland took part in sport and physical activity opportunities organised by Local Sports Partnerships. These impactful opportunities make people’s lives better, creating a positive legacy that can last a lifetime.
Sport Ireland and the LSPs believe in the value of sport and physical activity, our work together is a powerful force in transforming communities and the lives of the people who live in them.
There is a network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships across Ireland. These LSPs undertake a wide range of actions with the aim of increasing sport and physical activity participation levels in their local communities. These actions are grouped within four outcome areas:
- Working to develop clubs, coaches and volunteers and supporting partnerships between local sports clubs, community based organisations and sector agencies.
- Creating great opportunities for access to training and education in relation to sports and physical activity provision
- Provision of targeted programmes, events and initiatives to increase physical activity and sport participation
- Providing information about sport and physical activity to create awareness and access.
Find out more:
Useful Links
| Mark Barry | Irish Wheelchair Association mark.barry@iwa.ie |
| Linda Monaghan | Leinster LGFA gdo.leinster@lgfa.ie |
| Eve Talbot | Camogie Eve.Talbot@camogie.ie |
| Stephen Gore | Leinster Rugby stephen.gore@leinsterrugby.ie |
| Sarah-Louise Rossiter | Irish Sailing Association sl.rossiter@sailing.ie |
| Hugh Kenny | Wicklow GAA hugh.kenny.gamesmanager.wicklow@gaa.ie |
| Norma McIntyre | Vollyball East@volleyballireland.com |
| Fiach Andrews | Badminton development@badmintonireland.com |
| Geraldine McTavish | Boxing geraldine@iaba.ie |
| Deborah Ní Fhoughlú | Handball deborah.foley.handball@gaa.ie |
| Jason Kileen | Basketball jkilleen@basketballireland.ie |
| Alan Reynolds | FAI alan.reynolds@fai.ie |
Governance
Wicklow Sport and Recreation Partnership wishes to state that it has completed the process as set out for its organisation type and now complies with the principles as outlined below and practices of the Governance Code for Sport for a three-year period from the 2nd of September 2021, when the Board certified compliance.
The 75 principles are included in the headings below:
- Leading our organisation
- Exercising control over our organisation
- Being transparent and accountable
- Working effectively
- Behaving with integrity
Wicklow Sports and Recreation Partnership is committed to meeting all relevant Data Protection, privacy and security requirements, whether originating from legal, regulatory or contractual obligations and is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of individuals in accordance with current Data Protection legislation. This statement should be read in conjunction with the Data Protection Acts, and any amendments thereto or regulations made thereunder and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Find out more here.
The Freedom of Information Act enables every person to obtain access to information in the possession of the local authority, in accordance with the 2014 Act. More information can be found here: Freedom of Information.
Wicklow Sports and Recreation Partnership are working towards the prevention, reduction and elimination of poverty, and prioritising the needs of marginalised groups and removing barriers to access to sport and physical activities. Learn more here.
Download Wicklow Sports and Recreation Partnership End of Year Review 2021 9th of December 2021 Here
Details of Wicklow County Council’s formal complaints procedure can be found here.
Wicklow Sports and Recreation Partnership is a department of Wicklow County Council. Wicklow County Council is committed to a child-centred approach to our work with children in the delivery of all our services and activities. The Child Safeguarding Statement can be accessed here
Wicklow Sports and Recreation Partnership is a department of Wicklow County Council. Wicklow County Council Customer Service Strategy outlines our commitment to providing excellence in Customer Service in a professional, timely and inclusive manner. Our Key guiding principles have a common citizen centric approach to service delivery. Our Strategy outlines the range of services provided by the Council and new initiatives to improve the quality of our service for the future. The Wicklow County Council Customer Strategy can be accessed here. Wicklow County Council’s Customer and Staff Charter can be viewed here.
Other Useful Plans
It is well recognised that overweight and obesity is a significant problem in Ireland. Tackling this complex issue requires multi-agency, multi-level and coordinated approaches.
The Obesity Policy and Action Plan was developed by the Department of Health to address policy and intervention options in the context of prevention and management of overweight and obesity and is intended to support a consultation process currently underway.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland. Each year at least 5,500 people die from diseases caused by tobacco use.
Tobacco Free Ireland (TFI) was launched in October 2013. It sets a target for Ireland to have a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5% by 2025, effectively making the country a tobacco free society. TFI contains over 60 recommendations which address a wide range of tobacco control issues and initiatives.
The Healthy Workplace initiative is an important part of driving the Healthy Ireland agenda. As there are over 2 million people employed in Ireland, the workplace can make an important contribution to healthier communities.
Workplaces directly influence the physical, mental, economic and social wellbeing of workers and in turn, the health of their families, communities and society. It therefore offers an ideal setting and infrastructure to support the promotion of health to a large audience. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), workplace health programmes are one of the best ways to prevent and control chronic disease, and also to support mental health.
The National Sexual Health Strategy 2015 – 2020 is a strategic framework for the sexual health and wellbeing of the Irish population and was launched in October 2015.
This Strategy’s vision is that everyone in Ireland experiences positive sexual health and wellbeing, and has access to high quality sexual health information, education and services. It takes a life course approach to sexual health which acknowledges the importance of developing healthy sexuality throughout childhood and adolescence and builds on that foundation for positive sexual health and wellbeing into adulthood and older age.
The misuse of alcohol and harmful patterns of drinking pose a number of problems. These not only include negative effects on the health of those drinking too much, but also cause harm to families and society as a whole.
The proposed Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is the first time we will seek to address these negative impacts on public health grounds, and is part of a suite of measures designed to reduce alcohol consumption and limit the damage to the nation’s health, society and economy.
On 7th March 2017, the HSE launched a new website for the public on alcohol – about how much we’re drinking, how it affects us healthwise, and how we can gain more by drinking less. It is the first HSE website to provide dedicated information about alcohol risk and offers support and guidance to anyone who wants to cut back on their drinking.
A focus on research is an important feature of Healthy Ireland. This is to ensure that interventions, programmes, communication strategies and funding strategies are based on robust evidence about the determinants of health and best practice approaches in addressing them.
Accelerating the take-up of new knowledge and innovating through advances in scientific knowledge will also be a key aspect of how we will achieve our goals.
Healthy Ireland will also be subject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation. This includes the development of an Outcomes Framework that will specify key indicators and targets to underpin the various strategies and actions under Healthy Ireland. Regular measurement of these indicators will allow progress on improving the health and wellbeing of the population across the lifecourse to be assessed over time
