PARTICIPATION in sports is generally increasing, according to a new report, but “much more quickly” for individual sports such as swimming, jogging and exercise rather than team sports like Gaelic football, hurling, soccer, and rugby.

A €220,000 funding shortfall for an exhibition during Cork’s year as European Capital of Culture had to be met by taxpayers, the state spending watchdog has revealed.

Ministers are appointed to represent the whole country, but some members of the Government have engaged in the naked preferment of their own constituencies, especially in matters like decentralisation and the allocation of sports grants.

SPORTS Minister John O’Donoghue awarded National Lottery sports grants to 103 projects that were not initially approved by his department in 2004, the Irish Examiner has learned.

PROPOSALS to overhaul Section 481 tax relief for film investors were successfully resisted by the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O’Donoghue earlier this year.