Sports bodies call for funding to be maintained

AS was the case 12 months ago, the Irish sporting fraternity has come together in an attempt to persuade the government’s bean counters not to take the scissors to the sector’s funding purse in the upcoming Budget.

Last year’s campaign was titled ‘Why Irish Sport Matters’ and was relatively successful, with funds designated for sports in 2010 reduced by just 9% from the emergency Budget the previous April, while the money set aside for the Irish Sports Council fell by less than half that.

Leading sportspeople, including Paul O’Connell, Lar Corbett and Katie Taylor, delivered this year’s submission to Sports Minister Mary Hanafin yesterday but cuts are all but inevitable given the prospect of €6bn being shaved from public expenditure.

Made on behalf of 75 governing bodies including the GAA, FAI, IRFU and Olympic Council of Ireland, the submission accepts the economic reality facing the country but warns that any reductions will impact on sporting performances at home and abroad for decades to come.

It has also been noted that total funding of sport in this country has already fallen by 62% since 2008 and the point has again been stressed that such monies benefit ground-level people and organisations as well as high-performance athletes.

The submission adds that 270,000 volunteer their time on a weekly basis to ensure that 1.7 million people participate in sport in 12,000 clubs in every parish in Ireland.

“As I have said on many occasions, sport has a significant role to play in improving public health, contributing to the economy, building communities, driving tourism and establishing pride in Ireland both at home and abroad,” said GAA Director General Paraic Duffy.

“Sport has a remarkable power to make us feel good and that is hugely important in the current difficult economic times. Every day across Ireland thousands of people are involved in coaching, playing, volunteering and administrating sports.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney echoed another familiar theme from last year’s campaign in pointing out that sports funding is not a tap that can be turned off and on without severe ramifications for those involved.

Delaney warned that much of the progress made by the sector since government funding first began to mushroom in 1997 would be lost if a short-term view is taken this month and the put emptied still further.

His counterpart in the IRFU, Philip Browne, pointed out that for every €100 spent by the government on sport another €149 flows back into the public purse. Browne also pointed to less intangible benefits that stem from the glow of sporting successes.

“It is essential that the Government continue to give full backing to Irish sport if we want Irish sport to be successful,” added Pat Hickey, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland. Irish sporting success has been one of the few bright spots for the country in recent years.

“I have said it many times in the past that if investment in sport is curtailed at this point in time then not alone can we virtually write off any chances of success for the 2012 London Olympics but we can certainly forget about our chances in Rio in 2016.”

“I think it is indicative of the importance of Government funding that Irish sport is fully united in making this submission.”