Funding of sports is inefficient, says ESRI

ELITE activities that do not encourage public participation receive two-thirds of all sports funding despite government policies aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles.

That’s according to an Economic and Social Research Institute report being published today, which describes government funding of sport as “inefficient” and calls for reform of the way sports are publicly funded.

The report casts doubt on the wisdom of providing more sporting facilities around the country, saying that such a policy is “very unlikely” to lead to a significant increase in the number of people playing sport.

It also singles out for criticism the level of funding received by the GAA as “hard to justify” and points out that horse and greyhound racing receive more than three times the amount allocated to swimming pools — despite swimming being the second most popular participation sport.

Funding of sports has increased tenfold in the last 10 years, with €311 million allocated by central government to the sport budget of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in 2008.

The four most popular participation activities are exercise (gym, aerobics, keep-fit), swimming, golf and soccer, with the growth in exercise and jogging “far outstripping” any participation increase for other sports during the last five years.

Report author and economist, Dr Pete Lunn, also questions the spending of 25% of the Government’s sports budget on the provision of facilities such as pitches, pools, changing rooms, clubhouses and halls, given that just 2% of non-participants in sport cited a lack of facilities as a reason for non-involvement.

Any public demand for facilities, says the author, “seems to be for swimming pools, places to walk and gyms/fitness centres”.

The report quotes surveys which find that time, motivation and health are bigger barriers to participation than facilities, “yet the programmes most likely to overcome these barriers receive a small fraction of the money spent on facilities”.

A “strong case” could be made for moving away from providing “physical capital”, says the study, in favour of “human and social capital” associated with sport.

Dr Lunn called for a re-examination of how sport is funded: “To some extent it is understandable that present policy is at odds with evidence, because much of the data about sporting activity in Ireland is new. But given what we now know and especially when public finances are tight, there is a strong case for reform.”