National Disability Authority report Main recommendations: Johnny Watterson looks at the main points in the NDA study which is being launched today

With just weeks left before the United Nations International Year of Sport comes to an end, it is a good time to judge whether Ireland has taken measures to ensure that people with disabilities have had equal opportunities for recreation and sport.

In a recent study by the National Disability Authority (NDA) published last month, and launched in Dublin today, there is little surprise that while Ireland continues to move forward in this area, there remains a lot to do. The recommendations at the end of the report are so basic they infer that everyone from the government to volunteers and the media have some way to go before Ireland can sit back and feel satisfied that enough is being done. Disabled sports are being served. But they could be served much better.

It is recommended that the media should be more inclusive and diverse in their coverage of events and should portray images of children and adults with a disability more regularly.

At the last Paralympic Games in Athens, Ireland brought home more medals than the able-bodied athletes who had preceded them in the same venues. Given the Olympic haul this time round (one gold medal, in showjumping, which was then taken back when the horse Waterford Crystal was found to have human psychotic drugs in its system), that was not hard.

But the reality was that unless a medal was earned at the Paralympics, television, radio and the print media remained disinterested.

From Ireland, only the national broadcaster RTÉ and The Irish Times sent journalists to cover the games. Not one American broadcaster or national paper remained on after the Olympic games to report on the Paralympics. There is ground to recover.

The report states that more appropriate natural structures have to be developed and promoted in Ireland.

It highlights issues that need to be addressed "if everyone is to attain their potential in and through physical activity/sport".

The report also points towards "the need for all stakeholders to work across structures and organisations in order to formulate and implement strategies that will ensure quality experiences in sport for people with disabilities".

There are a number of barriers that contribute to low levels of participation, many of them the same barriers that often preclude able-bodied children and adults from taking part in sport. Poor physical education in schools; negative school experiences; low expectations from teachers, families and peers; lack of knowledge of what is available; transport difficulties; under-trained staff and a lack of culture of general participation in physical exercise and sport in Ireland.

"We are becoming a spectator nation," it says.

From all of the research carried out by the NDA, five main factors emerged as essential if quality experiences are to be had in sport by people with physical disabilities.

These are stronger leadership; inclusive community facilities; adequate PE and physical activity experiences in the school and community; accessible information services and comprehensive education, training and coaching programmes.

As usual with sport, be it able-bodied or disabled, the main issues are not complex but ones of willingness and determination.

People with a disabilities should be employed in the field of leisure and sports.

A national framework for inclusive physical activity should be developed.

The media should be more inclusive.

Guidelines for teachers of students with physical disabilities.

National, regional and local public awareness campaigns.