Sport Ireland Welcomes Budget 2020 Allocation
Sport Ireland has welcomed the increase in current funding for sport announced in Budget 2020.
The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport today yesterday announced a substantial increase in current funding for Sport Ireland in 2020, covering a number of areas including delivery of the National Sports Policy and preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Commenting on the budget announcement, Sport Ireland Chairman, Kieran Mulvey, said:
“The Ministers’ budget announcement is a welcome one for Irish Sport. On behalf of Sport Ireland, I would like to thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, and their department officials for their work in securing additional funding for sport in Ireland.”
The Government’s National Sports Policy was published last year and identifies Sport Ireland as one of the key delivery agents. Yesterday’s announcement sees an additional €5.5 million allocated to Sport Ireland to support the delivery of the policy.
“The comprehensive and ambitious National Sports Policy published by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport last year tasks Sport Ireland with playing a role in the delivery of 45 of the 57 actions. The increased investment announced by the Ministers will allow us to continue to deliver on those actions, while supporting the sustainable development of the Irish sporting sector through the National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships. The valuable work of these funded organisations in providing opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to get involved in sport cannot be underestimated.”
There was further good news for high-performance sport in Ireland with an additional €2 million allocated to support preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. An additional €250,000 for the Irish Open has also been committed, bringing the total investment in the 2020 tournament to €1 million.
Sport Ireland Chief Executive, John Treacy, added:
“Through yesterday’s announcement, the Ministers have shown their commitment to the continued development of the Irish sport sector. The additional funding is a welcome boost for the Irish High Performance System. We are reaching a critical juncture in the planning for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games and the additional high performance funding will support Ireland’s top athletes as they continue on the qualification path and step-up their preparations for Tokyo.”