Sports Council funding cut

THE Government has announced there is no money available for the long-mooted indoor training arena and track at the National Sports Campus in west Dublin, and is instead seeking help from the state’s wealthier citizens.

At present, sport does not qualify for charitable status when it comes to philanthropic donations. Fine Gael promised to address that anomaly in their manifesto prior to taking office with Labour.

The news has been welcomed by Sarah O’Connor of the Federation of Irish Sports which first pointed out the obstacles to, and possible benefits of, the philanthropic route when sports officials met with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar recently.

Other aspects of the long-delayed campus project have been given the go-ahead however. Mr Varadkar announced €16 million will be made available for the campus in the lifetime of the Government.

The campus will also welcome new tenants in 2012 in the form of the Irish Sports Council, who will move to Abbotstown House — a listed building in need of some refurbishment — while Sport HQ and its myriad of governing bodies will also be moving in.

Other commitments include a contribution of €64m for the Sports Capital Programme and €32m for the construction of swimming pools.

As expected, funding for the Irish Sports Council has been cut by at least €2m and will reduce its budget by between 4% and 5%. Similar cuts are expected in the next two years.