Introduction to Meath Local Sports Partnership

MLSP was established by the Irish Sports Council to co-ordinate and promote the development of sport at a local level. The key aim of the MLSP is to increase participation in sport and to ensure that local resources are used to best effect; it will also provide a voice for those who participate locally in sport throughout the county. Meath LSP works with member agencies and local community groups in providing opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity regardless of age, ability, background and socio-economic position

• How is the Irish Sports Council (ISC) linked to Meath LSP?
• MLSP Objectives
• Background to Meath LSP
• Establishment of Meath LSP
• Board & Staff
• Meath Local Sports Partnership Staff
• Data Protection

How is the Irish Sports Council (ISC) linked to Meath LSP?

The Irish Sports Council was established in 1999 under the Irish Sports Council Act 1999. The ISC have established local sports partnerships at county and city level nationwide to co-ordinate and promote the development of sport at a local level with further plans to develop them nationwide. Meath LSP receive core funding from the ISC on an annual basis.

MLSP Objectives

Objectives of MLSP are:

• Increase opportunities for everyone to participate in sport and physical activity in Meath
• Enhance training and development opportunities for all involved in sport and physical activity in Meath.
• Encourage better use and planning for sport and physical activity.
• Increase awareness of the work and programmes of the MLSP.
• Promote participation in sport in a drug free environment.

MLSP will work with member agencies and local community groups to provide opportunities to participate regardless of age, ability, background and socio-economic position.

MLSP hope to achieve its objectives through the delivery of the following programmes - Buntus, Active Leadership, Older Adults Initiatives and by organising and facilitating workshops in Club Training and Development, Capital Funding, Code Of Ethics, Children's Officer Training, SAQ, First Aid, AED Trainig and many others.

Background to Meath LSP

Under the Irish Sports Council Act of 1999, the Irish Sports Council (ISC) was established as the statutory body whose mission is to "plan, lead and co ordinate the sustainable development of sport in Ireland." In this context, the ISC identified that the effective development of sport and recreation at the local level would be best delivered through the adoption of a partnership approach between all bodies and organisations involved in the delivery of sport and recreation.

In order to provide a framework and supporting structure for such partnerships, it was proposed that the ISC would establish and support a number of Local Sports Partnerships at county and city level. The ISC is facilitating the creation of Local Sports Partnerships to co-ordinate and promote the development of sport at a local level.

The key aims of the Local Sports Partnership will be to increase participation in sport and to ensure that local resources are used to best effect.
The outcomes the Irish Sports Council is seeking to achieve through the Local Sports Partnerships are:

• Greater participation by young people in sport
• Enhanced planning of sport at local level School/club/community and possibly school/National Governing Body (NGB) links
• Increased levels of local participation, especially amongst specific target groups such as older people, girls and women, people with disabilities, unemployed people and those who live in identified disadvantaged communities
• Enhanced local coach deployment
• Club development and volunteer training
• Local Directories of sports bodies and facilities
• Better use of existing facilities
• Clear priorities for local facility provision and improvement, with related quality management initiatives

Establishment of Meath LSP

Meath Local Sports Partnership was established in July 2002 under the direction of the Irish Sports Council to plan, lead and coordinate the development of sport and physical activity in Meath.

Our second strategic plan - "Sport & Physical Activity - a Way of Life" will span the five years 2007 - 2012 and will build on the success of the first plan and continue to focus on the central theme of increasing participation in sport and physical activity in Meath. This plan outlines the direction Meath Local Sports Partnership will follow through to 2012; it is the result of intensive consultation with member agencies, club representatives, teachers, young people, people with disabilities and community and voluntary groups.

The vision of the partnership in our first plan was to get "everyone active through healthy living & sport participation"; we shall continue to develop this theme in order to facilitate "sport & physical activity becoming a way of life" for everyone in Meath.

Meath LSP is made up of local agency and sporting community representatives. Nominations were sought for the membership of the Partnership from clubs community and the voluntary sectors, and the board is representative of all the stakeholders in sport and recreation in Meath.

Meath Local Sports Partnership Board

Meath Local Sports Partnership Staff

Co-ordinator: Mary Murphy

Administrator: Marcella Mitchell

Sports Inclusion Disability Officer (SIDO): Aine Coogan

Community Sports Development Officer (CSDO): David McCaffrey

Sports Development Officer (SDO): Ruairi Murphy

Be Active ASAP Co-ordinator: Eileen McEvoy

Office Assistant: Emma Murtagh

Data Protection

The staff of Meath Local Sports Partnership make every effort to meet its data protection responsibilities. We endeavour to adhere to the principles of data protection, as laid out by the Data Protection Commissioner:

1. Obtain and process the information fairly
2. Keep it only for one or more specified and lawful purpose
3. Process it only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given to you initially
4. Keep it safe and secure
5. Keep it accurate and up-to-date
6. Ensure that it is adequate, relevant and not excessive
7. Retain it no longer than is necessary for the specified purpose or purposes
8. Give a copy of his/her personal data to any individual, on request.