Sport Ireland Announces €1,900,000 investment in the International Carding Scheme & €200,000 to the Team Ireland Golf Scheme

28 Mar 2018

Sport Ireland today announced details of the 2018 International Carding Scheme and Team Ireland Golf Scheme. The €1,900,000 investment of the International Carding Scheme will support over 90 athletes (69 Olympic and 21 Paralympic) and 12 athletes on the top category of Podium funding.

In 2018, Sport Ireland will award €200,000 to the Team Ireland Golf Scheme. This grant is awarded to the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI) for the running and administration of the Scheme. Sport Ireland’s investment in this Scheme facilitates direct player support (€130,000) and indirect player support including the Challenge Tour Event and the provision of a training base in Quinta do Lago, Portugal. Grants worth €130,000 have been allocated to 12 emerging professionals with Gavin Moynihan and Stephanie Meadow receiving the largest individual grants of €20,000 each.

 Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin T.D, “Today’s substantial investment through the International Carding Scheme will support our most talented sports people and I want to commend every athlete who has qualified for funding in 2018. They have earned the support through exceptional performances and they are excellent ambassadors for Irish Sport as they continue to represent our country, around the world. I also welcome the investment in the Team Ireland Golf Scheme which supports our golfers. Golf plays a significant role in Irish Sport and is also very significant from a tourism perspective. Events such as the 2018 Irish Open, which will be hosted in Ballyliffin Golf Club in Donegal, continue to promote Ireland as a golf tourism destination”.

The clear aim of the International Carding Scheme is to ensure that athletes can prepare effectively for major championships including European, World, Olympic and Paralympic Games. 2018 sees the addition of a number of exciting prospects for the future including: Rhys McClenaghan (Gymnastics Ireland), Megan Fletcher (Judo) and Mona McSharry (Swimming) who are all new to the Scheme.

These young athletes join some of Ireland’s most experienced and successful athletes including Paul and Gary O’Donovan (Rowing), Annalise Murphy (Sailing) and Thomas Barr (Athletics). Sport Ireland is delighted to welcome these new talents and will continue to support their respective National Governing Bodies towards Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. In addition to the direct investment, athletes will have access to science, medicine and lifestyle support services at Sport Ireland Institute.

The International Carding Scheme will continue to evolve under the direction of the Performance Director of each sport throughout this Tokyo cycle and beyond. Since 2012, on a phased basis, a number of sports have taken over the management of the international Scheme. These sports are known as ‘Transition Sports’. In 2018 Paralympics Ireland will become the 8th Transition Sport to directly manage their para swimming and para athletics programmes. Transition Sports now include

  • Athletics Ireland
  • Cycling Ireland
  • Swim Ireland
  • Rowing Ireland
  • Triathlon Ireland
  • Irish Sailing Association
  • Badminton Ireland
  • Paralympics Ireland

The International Carding Scheme is one element of the investment strategy of Sport Ireland for 2018. Earlier this year Sport Ireland announced €7m to be invested directly into the high performance programmes of 20 National Governing Bodies. Investment will also be made to the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland. At the end of 2017, the Minister announced €380k in targeted funding for major events due to take place in 2018, with €320k of this allocated to 4 high performance sports.

Chairman of Sport Ireland, Kieran Mulvey, commented “2017 was an excellent year for Irish sport with impressive European and World performances at senior and junior level. In order to sustain this success, it is vital that our athletes are well supported. The Tokyo Games are just on the horizon with qualification getting underway. Sport Ireland will continue to work closely with the Olympic Council and Paralympics Ireland and continue to provide support as we build up to the 2020 Games. We must continue to develop our High Performance system so that we can be competitive in international sport and the refinement of the Carding Scheme is an essential element of that process”.

The objective of the Team Ireland Golf Scheme is to support golfers who have the potential to become established players on the main international tours, such as the European Tour and US PGA Tour. It is designed to provide support, both financial and non-financial, to selected young professional golfers to help them succeed at international level.

With regard to the Scheme’s eligibility rules, 2017 was the first year where an ‘earnings cap’ was introduced for players applying for support. Players that won over €250,000 in total prize money in the season immediately prior are not eligible to receive financial support through the Scheme. These players are still eligible to receive non-financial support.

John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, commented: Sport Ireland is delighted to invest in Team Ireland Golf, which is continuing to help Ireland’s top amateur golfer transition into the professional game. Today’s investment supports, along with the vast experience and expertise of the Team Ireland Golf Leader Des Smyth, means that we now have a strong system in place which will ensure Ireland continues to produce world-class golfers long into the future.”

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International Carding Scheme & Team Ireland Golf Scheme 2018.pdf