Nov 30, 2017
Thursday 30th November 2017
The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to welcome the announcement of the many facilities both new and existing that are to be supported by the Sports Capital Grants which the Government has announced today. We are particularly pleased with the additional funding which has seen the original fund of €30 million being increased to €56 million. Given that the scheme attracted so many applications the decision to bring forward funding has enabled a much wider range of projects to receive funding.
We see the Sports Capital Grant programme as an endorsement of An Taoiseach’s stated commitment to doubling funding for sport over a seven-year period. It is, however, vital that the investment in infrastructure is matched by investment in people and programmes in order to ensure that all of the new or enhanced facilities deliver to their full potential for Irish Sport. For that to happen future budgets must begin the complementary process of restoring the funds for current expenditure on sport. These are the funds that enable Sport Ireland and our members – the National Governing Bodies and the Local Sports Partnerships – to create the necessary programmes to ensure facilities all over the country realise their full potential.
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Contact: Roddy Guiney, Chairman, Federation of Irish Sport
Tel: 087 2523 095
Oct 9, 2017
The Federation of Irish Sport released its pre-budget submission. In the submission the Federation is calling on the Government to look at the 10 points below.
- IMMEDIATE INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR NATIONAL SPORTING ORGANISATIONS & LSPs
- MORE CERTAINITY IN FUTURE FUNDING
- ALLOW STRATEGIC INPUT OF NATIONAL SPORTS ORGANISATIONS & LSPS INTO FUNDING FOR FACILITIES
- MULTI-SPORT DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS
- TAX RELIEF FOR DONATIONS TO SPORTING BODIES
- LOOK AFTER IRELAND’S ATHLETES BETTER
- ATHLETE ACCOMODATION AT THE NATIONAL SPORTS CAMPUS
- GREATER INVESTMENT IN HIGH PERFORMANCE SPORT
- BUILD THE CAPACITY OF OUR NATIONAL SPORTS ORGANISATIONS & LSPs
- A “WILD ATLANTIC WAY” FOR SPORT
To view the full submission of the Pre Budget please click on the following link Sport Matters 2017
Dec 16, 2016
The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to announce that our Annual Review 2016 was officially released today (Friday, 16th December).
The Review, which was penned and published by the Federation of Irish Sport, provides a thorough overview of the wide and varied successes enjoyed by Irish sport over the past 12 months.
In the Review, you can read about the positive influence sport has had in areas such as health, the economy, enhancing Ireland’s reputation worldwide and social inclusion, proving the value of continued government support and investment.
The Review also includes a comprehensive Members’ Appendix where you can learn about how each and every cent of taxpayer’s money given to the country’s National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Sports Partnerships (through Sport Ireland) is being put to great use.
To view or download the Annual Review 2016, click here.
Please note that we have a limited number of hard copies of the Annual Review available for collection to members at our office in Irish Sport HQ. Please contact Emira O’Neill for more information – emira.oneill@irishsport.ie
Oct 27, 2016
The Federation of Irish Sport, the representative body for the majority of Ireland’s national Olympic sporting organisations, is calling for transparency from the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) today (Thursday, 27th October 2016) ahead of its Executive Board Meeting this evening.
Due to commence at 18:00, it is understood that on the agenda at this evening’s meeting will be the review of Deloitte’s independent report into the governance of the OCI.
The Federation of Irish Sport, on behalf of its members, is demanding that the OCI make the report available in full to its 36 member federations immediately after the meeting has concluded and that the report also be published in full.
Chief Executive of the Federation of Irish Sport, James Galvin said:
“The OCI has been in crisis since the Rio Olympics and has severely damaged its relationship with Irish sport. This report will provide the first insight into what went wrong with its governance and how it can begin to be repaired.”
He continued “We believe that without open, honest and timely communication from the OCI, rehabilitating the organisation cannot happen. This first step needs to be transparency with its stakeholders about the Deloitte report.”
Oct 24, 2016
Budget 2017 confirmed that Sport Ireland funding, which supports the participation and high performance programmes of 74 National Sports Organisations and 26 Local Sports Partnerships as well as Coaching Ireland, the Institute of Sport, the National Sports Campus and Sport Ireland’s own research, anti-doping, and trails programme, is to remain static at the 2016 level of €47.266 million.
This contrasts with the €6 million increase in funding awarded to the Horse & Greyhound Fund next year, the third consecutive increase awarded to horse and greyhound racing by Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan. Government funding for horse and greyhound racing at €64 million for 2017 now exceeds the pre-recession peak of €62.6 million reached in 2008.
Current funding for sport remains someway off its 2008 peak of €57 million. This is despite the reality that sport and physical activity have a key role to play in public health with physical inactivity estimated to contribute up to 11% of the overall health spend, to the economy in supporting an estimated 40,000 jobs in Ireland, to tourism in generating up to €1 billion in revenue for Ireland each year, to active citizenship with more than 500,000 Irish adults volunteering in sport each year and to Ireland’s reputation with 89% of people believing sport has a positive effect on Ireland’s reputation.
Indeed, the stagnant funding levels is in reality a reduction when the impact of the two new programmes to which Sport Ireland is already committed are taken into account namely, the financial support for the Women’s Gaelic Players Association and the operating subsidy for the National Sports Campus.
Speaking of the decision not to increase funding, Chief Executive of the Federation of Irish Sport James Galvin said:
“There is a strong feeling amongst our members that it is time that the Government took sport seriously. In recent years, there has been acknowledgement of the role sport and physical activity plays in public health as evidenced through the publication of the National Physical Activity Plan, talk of the importance of participation, commendation of the role of volunteers in delivering grassroots sport and no shortage of congratulations when Irish athletes perform on the world stage.
“Yet when it comes to securing current funding for sport either through the direct allocation of funds or the introduction of initiatives to incentivise private sector investment in sport there has been little change. This is a source of great disappointment to our members who are working hard to achieve their dual mandate of increasing participation and allowing Irish athletes with talent to achieve on the world stage.”
Irish Sport bodies do welcome the confirmation that there will be another Sports Capital Programme next year to assist with the development, maintenance and upkeep of sports facilities and equipment right around the country. The continued development of the National Sports Campus is also welcome although there are concerns as to whether the second phase of the National Indoor Arena will proceed given the overall reduction in capital funding, as well as questions being raised about the future funding of operations at the Campus.
Chief Executive James Galvin stating:
“Whilst it is always welcome to see funding for sport be it capital or current to Irish Sport Organisations, we believe that it is current funding over capital investment that has the real potential to be transformative to Irish Sport. This is supported by international research which has found that people and programmes are more important to participation than facilities. Our members are also concerned that the National Sports Campus, a very welcome addition to the national infrastructure, will not be completed given the pressures likely to come on capital spending centrally and indeed, that the facilities already constructed will be sufficiently well funded to operate.”
