promises outlined in Government's blueprint, the Minister said yesterday.

"Last Budget we spoke of plans to create recreational facilities in each parish,'' the Hon. Pamela Gordon told the House of Assembly during the Budget Debate yesterday.

"We were able to create a court at the northern upper level of Shelly Bay field for basketball on June 9 with the department of Agriculture and Fisheries.'' But the Opposition was unimpressed with the developments at the National Stadium and the "small'' amount of money allocated to the Ministry.

Shadow Minister Dr. Ewart Brown charged that the Ministry had simply transferred the "albatross'' of the National Stadium "from around its neck to a quango because it couldn't stand the heat''.

But Ms Gordon , while not trying to defend the Government's record regarding the National Stadium, said her Ministry had been given funds from a finite sum so priorities had to be set.

Ms Gordon stressed that several facets of her Ministry's portfolio were successful, these included the summer day camps and after school programmes.

Thirty-one full and part time staff were involved in the programmes that served 2,000 people each month between the ages of five and 25.

Although successful, the Minister agreed that there were youth at risk in some areas such as Sandys Parish and Government will continue a pilot project that was started last summer with representatives from the Police and the Health, Social Services and Housing Ministry.

"Many in the programme found it a home away from home,'' she said. "So we are working with the same groups so that it can be a mainstay just like the St. George's community centre and the Centre in Hamilton. The West End will have its centre in two weeks.'' The West End centre also tied in with promises made in Government's General Election blueprint.

It stated that each parish that had space would get a recreational centre. So far the Shelly Bay basketball courts were completed and work was ongoing at the Warwick Long Bay play ground.

Moreover, money has been earmarked for work at the Royal Naval Field ($23,000) and the Shelly Bay field ($5,000) which is now complete.

Ms Gordon said the teen day care camps and summer day camps were the real success story because they helped families to make sure children have a safe place to go during the summer.

The hours of operation have been extended to 5.45 p.m. so that those families unable to get off work before 3 p.m. could have their children looked after.

Senior and junior counsellors were now being used and this allowed young Bermudians with an interest in child development to get hands on experience.

An added benefit occurred when some Bermudians who realised they did not have the ability to cope with young children changed their minds and pursued to a different career.

Ms Gordon said After School Programmes received $132,000 for administration and these programmes were carried out in schools all over the island.

These programmes help with after-school care, homework and recreation.

Ms Gordon said her ministry hosted a successful conference for sporting bodies at the Bermuda College in January where issues relating to sponsorship, media coverage, sport and the law were discussed among other topics.

The Ministry had set aside $25,000 to encourage junior athletes. Six athletes will be selected every year.

The young athletes would develop skills, get coaching locally and abroad.

Government's sponsorship of "Youth Talk'' and "Fast Forward'' were ongoing, Ms Gordon said, exposing young Bermudians to the "rudiments of television''.

In the case of Fast Forward, the young correspondents are learning how to interview, edit and produce each segment.

Ms Gordon said the Sports Awards ceremony held last month were immensely successful.

There was an alcohol-free reception which was indicative of the Ministry's stance on drugs.

"We felt if we were serious about it,'' Ms Gordon explained, "alcohol must be considered a drug so the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation will not support an alcohol based function.'' Ms Gordon said the Board of Inquiry into the events that occurred in Miami with the Under 23 soccer players was due to report its findings this month.

She said that the International Olympic Committee and other international bodies had met and had agreed to take a more holistic approach to drugs in sport.

For the first time drugs such as alcohol and marijuana were being considered in addition to performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, cocaine and heroin.

However, despite this tougher stance and efforts to make testing practices more uniform, the IOC was "not about penalising (people who tested positive), instead they will be finding methods to help them.'' Regarding the National Stadium, the Minister corrected the Opposition's allegation that the $220,000 given to the stadiums trustees was "media hype''.

She said the money was for operating costs and a further $300,000 was aimed at design plans for a total of $520,000.

Ms Gordon said that the PLP's charge that Government had allocated a "paltry sum'' of $484,000 for sport development was inaccurate.

She said the actual figure was $954,000, and included $150,000 for the Elite Athletes fund, $220,000 to the stadium's trustees, $25,000 to the Bermuda Swimming Association and $75,000 to the Bermuda Yachting Association.

Among other projects, the Ministry had given $96,000 to the Softball stadium, $207,000 for the tennis stadium.

Dr. Brown , meanwhile, said the $5 million allocated for the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation was "an ineffective drop in the bucket.'' In response to demands from the Government benches that he state how much should have been allocated, he said: "We need as much as it takes to get the job done.'' Dr. Brown said it was a significant omission that there was no mention of the word development in the Ministry's summary of its goals.

He said the Ministry amounted to a promoter of sport, instead of a developer of youth.

This was unacceptable given that the youth were the group highest at risk for drug use, premature death due to AIDS, joblessness and prison.

"We don't have enough geography to absorb dysfunction,'' he said.

Dr. Brown said it was unsurprising that the young people did not believe the system worked because Government had devoted so little money to them.

"If we don't make youth a higher priority the money we spend on tourists will be wasted,'' he said. "We must look at our present challenges -- the counter culture, drugs sex and violence.'' Dr. Brown said that while a majority of Bermuda's youth were not a problem, it did not need a majority to create a social change in the Island.

While probing the inadequate money for sport, Dr. Brown said he was more interested in the "philosophy behind the numbers''.

Dr. Brown said it was an embarrassment that countries poorer than Bermuda could produce better athletes and he said the intent was what was missing.

"Sport constitutes an effective weapon against drugs,'' he said.

Dr. Brown said the latest Census figures pointed out that there were 4,783 black youth and 1,940 white youth between the ages of 10-19.

Yet the Tourism Department missed a great opportunity to include the majority of the youth because no black College was invited to the Bermuda Bowl.

He said the Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. (Jim) Woolridge has shown tremendous "testicular fortitude'' when people criticised him for promoting the Black Masters tournament and he needed the same kind of resolve when it came to having a black university at the Bermuda Bowl.

Dr. Brown said the PLP were never confident that the Government would finish the National Stadium.

While he commended them for hiring a Bermudian manager he pointed out that currently the manager had nothing to do.

"In the 1980s, Government had the money but couldn't get it done. In 1993 the Government was embarrassed by its own impotence and inertia.'' Dr. Brown then criticised the Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan for "rubbing salt in the national wound'' by suggesting Bermuda produced elite athletes without a stadium.

He questioned how many more elite athletes Bermuda could have produced if there was a proper facility.

Dr. Brown said he was leery of the financial inducements to junior athletes because he wanted to ensure they maintained their amateur status.

The Shadow Minister suggested that elite athletes who benefited from the elite athletes fund should have a condition added when they receive taxpayers money to help out younger athletes.

He said sailor Mr. Peter Bromby, who is assisting young sailors, should be complimented.

Dr. Brown said it was a shame Bermuda had no full time national cricket coach, but he complimented the firm and decisive new leadership in the Bermuda Track and Field Association, which, he said, was in need of a home office.

He said that the past year in soccer was much more than the Miami episode, but said the issues raised were important.

The BFA needed to put its own house in order because there was too much obvious management difficulty and indecisiveness. And drug testing plans must pay attention to confidentiality and testing must be random.

Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill said it was "disingenuous'' to describe the $5 million Government has allocated for Youth, Sport and Recreation "as a drop in the bucket''.

Throwing money at problems was not good enough and Government had a responsibility to Bermuda to manage its affairs.

Mr. Nelson Bascome (PLP) said he was concerned about the amount of money that went to sailing when there were community clubs who dealt with far more people.

He said Bermuda's national sports cricket and soccer suffered from problems with administration which meant the youth did not get the full benefit of the programmes.

Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation, 1995/96 estimates Ministry responsibility: "To promote and support lesiure activities through youth work, recreation and sport, to provide paid and volunteer workers and leaders for the implementation of the programme and to support through grants, community organizations concerned with sporting and leisure activities.'' Budget estimate:$4,634,000 (last year $4,511,000) Budget allocation Administration and Sport development $1,593,000 Stadium $417,000 Community centres $505,000 Camping $673,000 Summer Activities $574,000 After School Care $873,000