- Government’s 4% increase in Core funding to be shared by 87 organisations
- Budget allocation to Sport Ireland for 2025 is €115.16 million
- Core funding allocation of €30 million sees marginal increase of €1.3m (4%) across 58 NGBs and 29 LSPs
- High Performance Sport allocated an additional €1.2 million
- A dedicated Disability in Sport funding stream allocated €1 million
The Government yesterday unveiled further details of Budget 2025, the largest budget in the history of the State. Additional funding to the sport sector is welcome however, the allocated 4% increase – €1.3 million – will not mitigate the rising costs of doing business for our National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs).
The NGBs and LSPs are responsible for the people and programmes that drive participation from grassroots all the way through to high performance. As stated in the Federation’s Pre Budget-Submission “Core Funding is used to strengthen the core of an organisation, not just maintain it.” Core funding allows NGBs and LSPs recruit additional staff and retain existing staff, run programmes, and develop coaching to meet the growing demands and reduce barriers to entry into their sport.
The recent Community Sports Facilities Fund allocation, while welcome news for communities and individual clubs, does not address the myriad of responsibilities placed on National Governing Bodies, including development, education, ethics, equity, inclusivity, diversity, coaching, promotion, safeguarding, and good governance of each sport nationwide.
Core funding budgets have come under increasing pressure to deliver on regulatory requirements including pensions auto enrolment, governance compliance and reporting. There is a growing pressure point for our member organisations to retain staff and find sufficient resources to recruit much needed members of staff to activate programmes to grow participation.
Speaking following the Departmental briefing, FIS CEO Mary O’Connor stated: “Following the national high of our best ever performance on the international stage at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, our members looked forward to an increase in core funding to operationalise their activities, comply with governance requirements and deliver the Government’s own national sports policy. While funding in other areas is welcome, as is the announcement on taxation reform, the core funding increase fails to keep pace with inflation and will directly impact our members’ ability to deliver basic support across their sports in 2025. The Federation of Irish Sport will engage with the Minister and his Department to ensure that the challenges facing the sector are clearly understood and addressed.”