Oct 13, 2021
The Federation of Irish Sport has welcomed funding for sport and physical activity in Budget 2022.
The announcement includes €96.2m in current funding for Sport Ireland, an increase of €4.3m and an increase of Dormant accounts funding from €10m to 12m which will target hard-to-reach communities with innovative projects to promote and sustain participation in sport and physical activity for all. Budget 2022 also allocated funding to the Sport Ireland Campus at Blanchardstown with a capital allocation of €9.6m for 2022.
In relation to capital support for sports projects, it has been indicated that next year’s additional funding will cover all existing commitments plus significant new allocations under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. The new allocations will be announced in the coming months.
Mary O Connor CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport said ‘the budget announcement today follows on from a commitment of a substantive €65m covid investment fund in recent days. We believe that investment by government into sport and physical activity has a strong return in terms of the economy, health and emotional wellbeing to Ireland and this belief has been evidenced in a recent report by Sport Ireland which estimates that the total value of sport to Ireland in economic terms is €3.7bn (GVA). Finally, I would like to thank Ministers Martin and Chambers and all at government for securing this funding and we look forward to 2022 with a determination matched only by our ambition for a thriving sporting environment’
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Oct 13, 2021
Paralympic silver medallist, Nicole Turner, and volunteer coach Eimear Mathews, were on hand today for the final call for nominations for this year’s Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport awards, proudly supported by EBS.
Nominations for the awards – which were launched in September – will close on 17th October, with clubs, individuals and sporting bodies urged to nominate their local everyday hero to be recognised by the Federation of Irish Sport and EBS at the 2021 Volunteers in Sport Awards.
This year’s awards will once again champion and celebrate the 450,000 volunteers across Ireland who ensure that sport and physical activity take place around the country every day. Each year, this army of volunteers dedicates over 37.2 million hours of their time across the country’s 13,000 sports clubs and associations.
To nominate an exceptional volunteer, and to be in with the chance of winning €1,000 for your local sports club, simply visit www.volunteersinsport.ie. Nominations can be made by a club, individual or sporting body before October 17th, 2021. The awards ceremony will take place virtually in December 2021.
Speaking following today’s final call for nominations, Paul Butler, EBS Managing Director said: “With the closing date for nominations approaching, all of us at EBS are really excited for this year’s Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards. This is our third consecutive year partnering with the Federation for these fantastic awards, and we are looking forward to formally celebrating the volunteers at the virtual awards ceremony in December. As we enter the final stages of the nomination process, we hope that people will log on and nominate the everyday heroes in their local community, who dedicate their free time each week to make sport happen in this country and give them the recognition they deserve for the brilliant work they do for sport across Ireland.”
Also speaking earlier today, the CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said: “As we enter the final days for nominations for the 2021 Volunteers in Sport Awards, we are encouraging everyone to log on http://www.volunteersinsport.ie/ and nominate their local volunteer. During the last 18 months, despite being in the midst of a global pandemic, we have seen just how important volunteers are to sport in Ireland. The army of volunteers in Ireland have dedicated their free time every day to ensure that sport could return in a safe manner, without any expectation of thanks or recognition. These awards are an important way of acknowledging that this work doesn’t go unnoticed and, with the support of EBS, we will continue to champion and reward the volunteers.”
Volunteers in all 32 counties of Ireland will be recognised at the awards ceremony. Last year, basketball stalwart, Anne McHale, of Ballina Braves Boys BC in Mayo, received the Outstanding Achievement Award for the many years of tireless service she has given to the sport and the club in her county. Olympian Pat Hooper was posthumously honoured with a Special Recognition Award for his dedication to athletics. Daingean GAA in Offaly also received a Special Recognition Award for their commitment to the local community during Covid-19.
For full information on how to nominate your volunteer in sport for the 2020 Volunteers in Sport Awards visit http://www.volunteersinsport.ie/
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Volunteers In Sport Awards
For further information please contact:
Mary McGuire, mary.mcguire@ogilvy.com 087 951 6651
EBS
For further information please contact:
Graham Union, Graham.X.Union@aib.ie 085 208 8343
Oct 6, 2021
€65 million additional funding for Sport and Physical Activity through a COVID-19 investment programme
The Federation of Irish Sport welcomes the announcement by Ministers Catherine Martin and Jack Chambers of €65 million in additional funding for sport and physical activity through a COVID-19 investment programme.
The fund announced today is in addition to funding provided previously to Sport Ireland in 2021.
The fund will be delivered under five key schemes:
- A Field Sport Fund to support the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU
- A Resilience Fund to support the National Governing Bodies of Sport and other Sport Ireland Funded Bodies
- A Sports Club Resilience Fund
- A Swimming Pool & Facilities Fund
- A Fund to support the Resumption of Sport & Physical Activity
Commenting on the announcement, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport said ‘We welcome the considerable investment in sport and physical activity announced today. The sector has experienced substantial financial challenges over the last 18 months and in that time our members have shown tremendous resilience and innovation to ensure sport and physical activity continues to provide people of all ages and abilities with the opportunity to be active and engaged daily. We thank Ministers Martin and Chambers for their work in securing the funding and their ongoing support during this difficult time, recent research conducted by Sport Ireland revealed there is a significant return when you invest in sport and physical activity not just economically but in health and social inclusion as well and I am delighted to see additional funding being made available to sporting bodies across the country’.
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Oct 5, 2021
- The awards celebrate the contributions of the 450,000 volunteers who give their time to Irish sport every year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sports clubs and associations.
- The deadline for nominations is Sunday October 17th
- Judges include Former GAA Director General, Mr Páraic Duffy as awards Chairperson, sports journalist and broadcaster Marie Crowe and CEO of Gaisce, Yvonne Mckenna.
They are joined by
- Clare McGrath, FIS Chairperson
- Richie Gernon, EBS
- Darren Duignan EBS
- Niamh Daffy, CEO CARA
- Roddy Guiney, Chairperson of WHPR and former FIS Chairperson
- Fiona Chambers, Head of the School of Education; a Senior Lecturer in PE and Sport Pedagogy at University College Cork
- Benny Cullen, Sport Ireland
- Paul Collins Volunteer Ireland
- Georgina Drumm, Former President Athletics Ireland
Please see here for further information about our 2021 judges – http://volunteersinsport.ie/news/2021/10/5/judging-panel-for-upcoming-2021-volunteer-in-sport-awards-announced
The deadline for nominations is Sunday October 17th
The Volunteer in Sport Awards, hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport, in partnership with EBS, will see volunteers from all 32 counties recognised for their outstanding contributions to sport in their county. The Awards will also select a national ‘Team of Volunteers’ award and a ‘Lifetime’ award to honour a volunteer who has consistently given of their time for a sport, team or event over many years.
Deadline for nominations fast approaching and members of the public are invited to nominate an individual whose contributions to sport has made a real difference to their community, club, or county. Nominations can be made by individuals, clubs, or sports associations via an online application form at http://www.volunteersinsport.com/
Previous Lifetime Award winners
Previous Lifetime Award winners include, Liam Sheedy, former player and current Tipperary All Ireland Champion Hurling Manager, Darren O’Neill, youth coach and Olympic Boxer and Peggy Mason who has been a Special Olympics Volunteer since 1985 and more recently in 2021 Anne McHale for her contribution to Basketball in Mayo.
Comment
Speaking about the announcement, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport said;
“We are delighted to confirm our judging panel for the 2021 Volunteer in Sport Awards. Our judges are drawn from a diverse breadth of backgrounds including volunteerism, sports administration and the not-for-profit sector amongst others. Their different backgrounds and expertise are a perfect reflection of the very diverse make-up of our sporting community and the many roles it fulfils in Irish society. All have witnessed the critical role played by volunteers in enabling Irish grassroots sport to take place each week and can speak to the many benefits they bring to communities up and down the country.
Also commenting, Páraic Duffy, former GAA Director General said:
“I am pleased to be involved in this special event that is the 2021 Volunteer in Sport Awards. I have been involved in volunteer sports organisations all my life and have seen first-hand how indispensable these volunteers are to their communities and their value has even been more evident during the challenges of covid19. The Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate their contributions and highlight the integral role they play in Irish sport and wider society.”
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Sep 29, 2021
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The Federation of Irish Sport Are Calling On Government To Boost The Nation Through Additional Funding For Sport and Physical Activity in Budget 2022
The Federation of Irish Sport believe that there has never been a better opportunity to harness the power of sport for our country as we emerge from the recent period of uncertainty. It is believed that an increased investment now in people and programmes that promote participation will have a disproportionately positive impact for the country that will continue long into the future.
The Federation of Irish Sport recognise and thank the government for the support of the sector over the last 18 months of covid19 with direct funding for Sport and physical activity, but also through cross sectoral supports that our members could access.
For Budget 2022, The Federation are seeking to ensure that they give the maximum number of people the opportunity to avail of the chance to become more active right across the wide range of sporting activities that either already exist or can be easily created by the NGB’s and the LSP’s, the organisations that are responsible for organising sport in Ireland today.
Every year The Federation of Irish Sport make a Pre-Budget Submission to Government on behalf of its members and this year’s submission focuses on five key asks:
1. Sports Resilience Funding
Recognise the pivotal role played by our NGB’s and LSP’s, and the impact that Covid has had on their finances, by putting in place a further tranche of the Sports Resilience Funding in the 2022 budget to assist them in ensuring their clubs, get back to pre-Covid levels of activity in the first instance, and create the platforms needed to ensure Irish Sport meets the targets of the National Sports policy.
2. National Sports Policy Funding
Increase overall current sports funding in the 2022 Budget, in line with its policies laid out in the National Sports Policy 2018–2027. It has always been The Federation’s contention 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, year on year, every year. Never has this been more important than for 2022.
3. A Commitment To Multi-Annual Funding
Move to a multi-annual system of current funding for sport, thereby giving the NGB’s and LSP’s the opportunity to plan ahead. This is not about extra funding but rather about certainty. Already there have been moves for such certainty for High Performance Sport. The ask is that it now be extended for all sports funding.
4. Sugar Tax and Sport
Redirect €1.35m (4.5%) of the Sweetened Sugar Drinks Tax exchequer returns to fund a specific campaign to tackle the obesity problem in Ireland. The sugar sweetened tax was created to stimulate behavioural change among Irish society away from the consumption of high-sugar products. While the tax is a financial disincentive, education is key in driving any behavioural change. Investing in sport to educate and encourage such change is a key element and should be resourced to support the overall aims of the sugar tax – to improve the health of the nation.
5. Betting Tax Redistribution
- €2.34m (4.5%) of the increase of the Betting Tax to develop and implement communication and educational programmes on the importance of sport and the protection of those at risk in our sporting community. Ideally this could be used to create grassroots diversion programmes in which sporting activity would be linked to educational, training and employment opportunities e.g., after school clubs focusing on sport, personal development, and education – literacy/numeracy and IT sessions.
Federation of Irish Sport CEO Mary O’Connor believes these will of huge benefit not just to the sports sector but to Ireland as a whole “Sport plays such a huge role in the lives Irish people, it brings people together, builds communities and provides joy to people in even the toughest times. What many people may not realise is that there is also a significant economic benefit of sport to this country through employment, tourism, tax receipts, prevention of illness and much more. The five asks in our pre budget submission reflect the needs of the sector and we believe that the government through Budget 2022 have the opportunity to provide the sports sector with the necessary tools to continue their work and positive impact into the future”
The Federation believe that the investment sought in the five key asks will see continued growth of the already massive economic value sport provides to Ireland. Resent research by Sport Ireland in association with Sheffield Hallam University revealed that the total value of sport to the Irish economy in 2018 was €3.7bn (GVA), while €3.3bn was spent by people in Ireland on sport related goods and services. Sport also made up 3.1% of all consumer expenditure in Ireland in 2018 (up from 2% in 2008) and 64,080 people were employed in sport in Ireland, while the estimated economic value of volunteering in sport and physical activity in Ireland in 2018 was €1.5bn.
Recent research by the Federation of Irish Sport also suggests that the State may recoup up to €195 in tax revenue for every €100 invested in sport-related activity.
Irish Olympian Rhys McClenaghan believes that this additional funding could make a huge difference, particularly to his own sport of Gymnastics “I’m incredibly grateful for the support that I’ve already got but there’s a lot of work that could be done to bring even larger numbers to gymnastics in Ireland. We want to get large teams going to Olympic games, that’s such a huge goal for us to achieve and that can only be achieved through that support coming through the grassroots”
Sep 9, 2021
A landmark partnership between the Football Association of Ireland and Sky has been announced today, which sees Sky becoming the first-ever, standalone Primary Partner of the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team. The four-year partnership means Sky will be Primary Partner of the Women’s National Team through two major tournaments – the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia / New Zealand and the 2025 UEFA Women’s
Championship.
The announcement was made today as Ireland Senior Women’s Team Manager, Vera Pauw, reveals her squad for the upcoming friendly fixture against Australia, on 21st September. The new partnership also comes a week
after the FAI’s historic announcement on equal pay, for the Women’s and Men’s senior teams.
Speaking at today’s partnership announcement, CEO of Sky Ireland, JD Buckley, said: “This is a momentous day for the whole team at Sky Ireland and one that we are exceptionally excited about. We have been looking forward to announcing this partnership and we are honoured to be the first-ever, stand-alone Primary Partner of the Women’s National Team.
“This squad is made up of incredible people who have broken through barriers, both on and off the pitch. They are, and will continue to be, an inspiration to people of all ages right across the country. As their partner, it is so important that we spotlight and celebrate this squad and their achievements – that’s what this partnership is all about. “We were delighted to see the FAI’s equal pay announcement last week, and as Primary Partner to the team, we look forward to doing everything we can to support them over the coming years.”
Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team Manager, Vera Pauw, said: “The significance of this partnership announcement is testament to the dedication of every one of the players and backroom staff members for what they continue to achieve, on and off the pitch.
“The support of a brand like Sky, as we turn our focus to the 2023 FIFA World Cup, is hugely exciting. Everyone involved with the Ireland squad are thrilled to welcome Sky to our team, and we look forward to working with them.”
Also speaking at today’s partnership announcement, FAI CEO, Jonathan Hill, said: “On behalf of the FAI Board and myself, we are delighted to announce Sky as Primary Partner of the Women’s National Team. This is yet another really positive step forward for women’s and girls’ football in Ireland and comes on the back of our historic announcement on equal pay last week.
“Football for women and girls is a core focus within our FAI Strategy and this truly is a landmark announcement for the FAI. Partnerships like this are exactly what will help us to grow the women’s game and ensure opportunities for younger generations to come and indeed, to persuade more women to get involved in the game full stop – be it as coaches, administrators or players. I want to thank JD Buckley and the Sky Ireland team for understanding and supporting that vision.”
The Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team will welcome Australia to Tallaght Stadium on 21st September before commencing World Cup action against Sweden at home, on Thursday 21st October.
