Minister Byrne attends EU Sports Council Meeting
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From: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
- Published on: 24 November 2023
- Last updated on: 17 January 2024
The Minister of State for Sport and Physical Activity Thomas Byrne will represent Ireland at the EU Sports Council meeting on 24 November in Brussels.
Ministers at the Council will seek to approve Council conclusions on the issue of ensuring equality for women in sport. They will also hold two policy debates on combatting hate speech in sport as well as considering the challenge of ensuring a safe environment in sport, where there will be a particular focus on such areas as the importance of having fit-for-purpose, well designed and maintained sports facilities and undertaking effective health and safety monitoring of athletes. Logistics such as crowd management and security are also expected to feature in the debate.
Other items to be addressed at the Council include the receipt of reports on the work being done by the World Anti-Doping Agency in its fight against doping in sport and the Council will also be informed of the plans being made by France and Germany for next year’s Paris Olympic/Paralympic Games and EURO 2024.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister Byrne said:
“The agenda for this Council meeting contains many items that are high priorities for me as Minister. In Ireland, we are investing record levels of State funding to achieve progress in the area of gender equality in sport. It is vitally important that we have a shared sense of purpose in this area to reflect the international nature of sport. Fighting for fair and clean sport is another significant challenge and I look forward to being updated on the progress being made by the World Anti-Doping Agency in this area.”