Council of Europe Delegation visits Ireland
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From: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
- Published on: 25 March 2025
- Last updated on: 29 March 2025
- Minister Patrick O’Donovan and Minister Charlie McConalogue welcomed the Delegation from the Council of Europe to Ireland
- the team from the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport conducted a Support and Follow Up Visit in relation to the European Sports Charter
The Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, and the Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue, have welcomed a team from the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) to Ireland.
EPAS was founded in May 2007 to foster and enhance cooperation on European sporting issues. It is focused on making sport fairer, more inclusive and safer. Ireland became the 41st member of EPAS in 2024. EPAS draws its membership from across Europe and neighbouring regions.
Across their two-day visit, the team has held meetings with stakeholders from across the Irish sports sector, and visited sites including the Sport Ireland Campus, a school, and Croke Park.
Minister O’Donovan said:
“The Council of Europe is one of the world’s leading defenders and promoters of Human Rights, This visit underscores Ireland’s commitment to delivering sport for all, in line with the provisions of the European Sporting Charter.
"It is also great to see the translation of the Charter into Irish as part of this visit. The Irish language, much like Sport, plays a central role in Irish culture, and it is only appropriate that said role is recognised internationally.”
Minister McConalogue said:
“Our National Sports Policy has placed a major emphasis on broadening and strengthening our sports. The European Sports Charter complements the goals of our National Sports Policy to ensure that our sports have proper governance and oversight.
"It also calls on ourselves, as a government, to provide appropriate policy support to the sector, both here and internationally. Delivering on the ambitious aims we have for sport requires capacity, and I am happy to see that further developed.”
Alexandre Husting, the Chair of EPAS said:
“Ireland joined the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) of the Council of Europe in May 2024. This support and follow-up visit of the European Sports Charter clearly illustrates the close alignment of sport policies in Ireland with the values-based approach of the Charter. The team welcomes important achievements, notably regarding gender equality and strong ties at community level and leaves Dublin with examples of best practices, brought to life by passionate and dedicated people.”
Notes
The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), is a Council of Europe initiative which provides a platform for intergovernmental sports co-operation between the public authorities of its member states. It also encourages dialogue between public authorities, sports federations and NGOs.
As part of the EPAS mandate, support and follow-up visits to the implementation of the European Sports Charter are carried out each year in its member states by an EPAS team.
The EPAS team will include members of their Governing Board, Consultative Committee and Secretariat.