Sports budget chopped by €23m

THE country’s sports sector suffered a considerable cut amounting to €23.5 million in yesterday’s budget, well over a fifth of it’s entire worth in 2010.

In all, €91.5m has been set aside for 2011, down from €115m.

The main reason for the decrease came in the form of the Sports Capital Programme which, with no new projects, has dropped from €48m to €33m, although that latter figure includes €5m of the monies allocated for this year which were not drawn down.