At its 2015 Annual Review in Herbert Park yesterday, the Federation of Irish Sport called for the establishment of a new sports event bidding agency to secure prestigious international sports events for Ireland.

James Galvin is the chief executive of the federation (which is the representative body for Ireland’s national sporting organisations, local sports partnerships and other voluntary sports organisations), and he feels that a similar model to that employed in Scandinavian countries could help Ireland in the bidding for events like the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“We’re looking at the models in the Scandinavian countries, which to date have proven to be particularly successful. What we’d like to do is replicate those models into an Irish context,” Galvin remarked.

“We’re looking forward, for example, to bidding for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Everything is on track for that. What we’d like to see is to position ourselves in such a way that we can attract major international events into the country, which I think would benefit us in a number of different respects.

“Firstly, it would be a boom to the economy, and secondly it would be a particular boom for sports. It would raise our profile internationally as a destination for elite sporting activities.”

Galvin was joined in the Ballsbridge venue by Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan — the federation’s current President. Brogan believes that it is important to have a mandatory period of two hours set aside in secondary school each week for PE, and Galvin is also a strong advocate for physical activity at both primary and secondary level.

“We would be a very strong advocate for a minimum two hours of physical activity in secondary schools, and we would also call for a one-hour weekly slot for physical activity in primary schools. I think it is absolutely essential, if we have any hope in terms of addressing the health problems in terms of increased cancers, obesity, diabetes.

“If we facilitate our young people to learn physical activity and physical literacy skills at the earliest opportunity, I think it would help us in terms of our health issues, but it also augurs well for the future, in terms of attracting and retaining people in sport throughout their life cycle.”

Galvin is also adamant that the current funding levels made available to sport should be on the agenda.

“In terms of current funding, it did drop to a very low level during the recession. I think the uplift in the economy needs to be reflected in the allocation of current funding to sport. That is sport in all its guises.

“Not only people who are participating in sport, but also to facilitate people that don’t currently participate in sport. To attract them into a different variety of sports,” Galvin added.