Oct 2, 2023
Changes can be made to tax system that would increase sports funding
Printed Sunday 02.10.23
I have just had a magical weekend of sport. First up was seeing almost 36,000 people at the Aviva Stadium to support our women’s soccer team fresh back from a first ever appearance at the World Cup. Then I settled down to see our men’s rugby team beat the reigning champions South Africa in the Rugby World Cup in Paris. And then on Sunday there was Leona Maguire leading Europe to glory in the Solheim Cup.
I could not help but cast my mind back to a campaign, run by the Federation of Irish Sport, over a number of years under the banner ‘Why Irish Sport Matters’, which highlighted the impact of sport in such diverse areas as health, the economy, tourism, community and our international reputation.
In any society it is accepted and proven that sport and physical activity are good for us. It teaches us, inspires us, engages us, and encourages us all to lead healthier and more active lives. It is also good for our economy. The total value of sport to the Irish economy annually is around €3.3bn. Today sport is responsible for some 64,000 jobs in Ireland.
Sport plays a vital role in our tourism sector. The return from major events such as the recent Notre Dame v Navy game was phenomenal. Our golf tourism figures are remarkable. And how can we put a value on what it does for our international reputation, and the feel-good factor for us all, here at home.
Recognising the important role played by sport in Irish life and equally recognising how government support and funding has an important role to play in the delivery of sport we have set out what we would like to see happen in the upcoming budget.
In particular we have set out what we want them to do by way of providing more finance for our members — all the national governing bodies and the local sports partnerships who between them make sport and physical activity happen in Ireland.
It is important to fully understand the role played by the NGBs and the LSPs. They are the bodies that make organised sport happen in Ireland and they do this through the 13,000 clubs across all sports that are at the heart of sport and physical activity in this country.
When the government set out its 10-year national sports policy in 2018 it recognised from the outset the pivotal role that would need to be played the NGBs and LSPs if the plan was to deliver on its objectives. In fact, such is their importance that they are the first to be listed in the key organisations mentioned in the national sports policy document.
The policy states: “The combined use of the expertise, knowledge and insight of this sporting fraternity will be essential for the successful implementation of this policy. We will therefore prioritise and enhance their funding to reflect the important contribution they make to Irish society.”
In the ‘National Sports Policy 2018-2027’, the government also recognised that if its challenging objectives were to be met then funding for sport would need to be increased substantially, and they committed to doubling it over ten years.
And we have seen a steady increase in funding to Sport Ireland, further investment in our state-of-the-art National Sports Campus, several rounds of the sports capital programme and the much-needed supports to help sport through the darkest days of Covid.
However, over the last three years inflation has had a major impact on the funds currently being provided and this has had a knock-on impact on the core funding available to both our NGBs and LSPs.
To emphasise this point, in 2022, core funding increased by 8.3 per cent, while average consumer price inflation increased by 7.8 per cent. In 2023, core funding increased by 6.7 per cent, and inflation averaged 6.2 per cent in the first half of the year.
The government invested €175m in sport in 2023 but the core funding that went to the NGBs to enable them to carry out all their essential programmes was €16m — and this is shared across 58 sports. The 29 LSPs received €9m.
The Federation of Irish Sport has made a submission to government ahead of the forthcoming Budget. We have four ‘Asks’, the most important being to take inflation and the increased cost of doing business into account in the core funding of our NGBs and LSPs. We believe this is essential if the country is to meet the targets set in the National Sports Policy.
We are realists, and we know that there are major demands on the government for funding in many different areas, particularly health and education. Having said that, a balanced approach pays off. There is a significant bank of evidence to show that the return on government investment in sport is significant. Research in 2019 showed that 97,000 cases of disease were prevented through participation in sport and physical activity and that represents a saving of €500m to the Exchequer.
Bearing in mind the demands on government, we have also looked to come up with solutions which are evidenced based where funding specific to sport might be raised by changes to the tax system — a view we believe is shared by the government.
Action 3.7 of the ‘Sports Policy Action Plan 2021-2023’ contains a number of tax expenditure reforms which at their core seek to help make sporting organisations become more self-sustainable and less reliant on government funding over time. Our members understand and welcome this ambition.
The Federation of Irish Sport was given responsibility to drive this action and we have put forward a number of business cases in this regard. These cases are underpinned by a report, which is already with government.
The proposals in the report are:
1 Extend relief on donations to approved sporting bodies.
2 Provide VAT relief for sporting bodies.
3 Grant charitable status to those NGBs and LSPs .
4 Create tax-driven incentives for personal exercise.
In particular we believe that tax incentives for personal exercise could be a major game changer for people with disabilities, which is an action set out in the government’s sports policy.
Our third ‘Ask’ in our budget submission calls on the government to increase the tax on betting and to use the extra monies generated to invest in specific areas of sport to help increase participation in hard-to-reach areas such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and in socially deprived areas as well as building sport and recreation infrastructure.
The final ‘Ask’ is that the government look closely at insurance reform in order to quickly reduce liability premiums to affordable levels. These reforms have been identified but they are not happening fast enough and are negatively impacting the sports sector.
Yes, as we have been saying for many years, sport matters. It deserves to be supported with more government investment. And the good news is it provides a real return on investment for every extra euro that can be provided, given that for every €100 invested there is a return of €195. To us, it’s a no-brainer.
Mary O’Connor is Chief Executive of the Federation of Irish Sport
Sep 21, 2023
Federation Pre-Budget Submission: Our key request is that the government continues to demonstrate its commitment to the National Sports Policy. The government has committed to doubling funding to sport over the ten-year life of that policy and much has been achieved by what has been done to date. The reality is that the upcoming budget will be looking at funding for Year Seven of that ten-year National Sports Policy.
It has always been the contention of the Federation of Irish Sport that it is essential that the government’s commitment to doubling sports funding (over the ten-year life of the NSP) should be done incrementally,
on an annual basis. Multi-annual funding commitments are essential to create certainty for the NGB’s and LSP’s, to allow them to plan strategically; maintain adequate staffing levels and staff certainty; and most importantly deliver on their objectives. The NGBs and LSPs are essential components for delivering on Government’s commitments and ambitions in relation to sport and physical exercise.
Our #1 Ask of government in Budget 2024 is an Increase in Core Funding. As part of our Pre-Budget campaign to highlight why #SportMatters, we caught up with our member CEOs from Swim Ireland, Rowing Ireland, Volleyball Ireland, Canoeing Ireland, Badminton Ireland and Basketball Ireland to hear why core funding is crucial to running their sporting organisations.
Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane
Basketball Ireland CEO John Feehan
Rowing Ireland CEO Michelle Carpenter
Badminton Ireland CEO Enda Lynch
Volleyball Ireland CEO Gary Stewart
Canoeing Ireland CEO Moira Aston
Senior Sport Development Officer, Fingal County Council Chloe Farrell
Sep 21, 2023
Our #1 Ask of government in Budget 2024 is an Increase in Core Funding. As part of our Pre-Budget campaign to highlight why #SportMatters, we caught up with our member CEOs from Swim Ireland, Rowing Ireland, Volleyball Ireland, Canoeing Ireland, Badminton Ireland and Basketball Ireland to hear why core funding is crucial to running their sporting organisations.
Today we hear from John Feehan, CEO Basketball Ireland.
From the Federation of Irish Sport Pre-Budget Submission 2023: The National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) recognised by Sport Ireland are at the centre of Irish sport. A key focus of Sport Ireland is to assist NGBs and LSPs to develop sustainable and effective structures to facilitate increased numbers of participants and volunteers in sport and ensuring long term sustainability of NGBs and for LSPs to deliver participation opportunities in local communities. The core grant covers the implementation of strategic plans and participation programmes, coach development, the hosting of events, the employment and retention of professional staff and the administration costs of developing and delivering the sport.
Multi-annual funding commitments are essential to create certainty for the NGB’s and LSP’s, to allow them to plan strategically; maintain adequate staffing levels and staff certainty; and most importantly
deliver on their objectives. The NGBs and LSPs are essential components for delivering on Government’s commitments and ambitions in relation to sport and physical exercise.
Sep 20, 2023
Our #1 Ask of government in Budget 2024 is an Increase in Core Funding. As part of our Pre-Budget campaign to highlight why #SportMatters, we caught up with our member CEOs from Swim Ireland, Rowing Ireland, Volleyball Ireland, Canoeing Ireland, Badminton Ireland and Basketball Ireland to hear why core funding is crucial to running their sporting organisations.
First up we hear from Swim Ireland CEO, Sarah Keane.
Federation Pre-Budget Submission: Our key request is that the government continues to demonstrate its commitment to the National Sports Policy. The government has committed to doubling funding to sport over the ten-year life of that policy and much has been achieved by what has been done to date. The reality is that the upcoming budget will be looking at funding for Year Seven of that ten-year National Sports Policy.
It has always been the contention of the Federation of Irish Sport that it is essential that the government’s commitment to doubling sports funding (over the ten-year life of the NSP) should be done incrementally,
on an annual basis. Multi-annual funding commitments are essential to create certainty for the NGB’s and LSP’s, to allow them to plan strategically; maintain adequate staffing levels and staff certainty; and most importantly deliver on their objectives. The NGBs and LSPs are essential components for delivering on Government’s commitments and ambitions in relation to sport and physical exercise.
Sep 19, 2023
The Welsh Sports Association (WSA), in collaboration with the Federation of Irish Sport, will host a Sustainability in Sport Conference on the 16th of November.
Taking place at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff the event will bring together the breadth of the sport and leisure industry with the collective mission of a sustainable sector in mind.
The Welsh Sports Association is working in collaboration with the Federation of Irish Sport to deliver a knowledge-sharing sustainability in sport conference for the sport and leisure sector. with support from agile Cymru, the one-day hybrid event will provide a platform to exchange ideas and best practices between members of the two organisations, in tackling a key issue, which transcends our borders.
A selection of speakers from within the WSA and Federation of Irish Sport membership bases will be featured, including an array of Chief Executives from Welsh sport, as they share valuable insight and best practice.
The Football Association of Wales’ Noel Mooney, Swim Wales’ Fergus Feeney and Canoe Wales’ Alistair Dickson will all speak at the Conference.
The WSA are also delighted to bring Impact 3 Zero’s founder Patrick Haslett across the Irish Sea to impart his knowledge on the delegates. Impact 3 Zero are an agency promoting the power of sport to drive positive social and environmental change. David Gilroy from Meath County Council will join Patrick to discuss the ‘Project Long Game’ initiative, which is an innovative new project in County Meath, that has laid out ambitious plans to empower local sports clubs to act more sustainably, paving the way for grassroots sport to play its part in delivering a sustainable future in Ireland and beyond.
Dilwyn Griffiths, Sustainability Lead at Wales Golf, will also join a panel discussion, explaining why the organisation picked up the Best Sustainability Initiative Award at the WSA Sports Industry Awards 2023 in June.
Alongside them will be Jennifer Huygen of Community Leisure UK, Jack Baker of the LTA and Steve Ward from Newport Live. Lauren Jenkins will be hosting the event for the WSA.
Supported by Agile Cymru, a Welsh Government scheme aimed at delivering cross-border and international economic co-operation across shared interests, the Conference will provide a vital knowledge-sharing opportunity to allow sustainable progression for organisations, clubs, and facilities.
WSA CEO, Andrew Howard, commented:
“The Sustainability in Sport Conference will provide a perfect platform for multiple, international stakeholders in sport and leisure to collaborate in tackling a key issue that goes beyond our borders.
“There has never been a more pivotal time to act in the name of sustainability and, in hosting this event, the WSA hopes to share crucial learnings between Wales and Ireland which can support the sport and leisure sector here in Wales to contribute to a globally responsible Wales.
“Sustainability is a key aspect of the WSA’s strategy for 2022-2025. We strive to set sport and leisure up for a successful future, and we aim to do this by developing resilience through organisational sustainability among our members.
“This collaborative Conference will be key in promoting the good work that already happens within sport and leisure and will go further in helping organisations in Wales and beyond to develop and move on in sustainable ways.”
Federation members can book their free online or in-person ticket here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wsa-sustainability-in-sport-conference-tickets-713044073017?aff=oddtdtcreator
