Sport was a winner in the 2015 budget announced by Ministers Noonan and Howlin yesterday and in the subsequent detail that was still emerging through the night.
At a special briefing in Government Buildings last night it emerged in response to a question from Sport for Business that there is to be a special departmental working group established to look at innovative and cost neutral ways that private and business investment in sport can be incentivised.
“We will establish this group within our own Department and that of the Department of Finance and we will see what might be possible around some of the suggestions that have been made to us in relation to external funding,” said Minister Paschal Donohoe.
Incentives
Sport for Business has expressed a desire to be part of that group and will look to see if we can bring in powerful representation from among the communities that might be among those who incentives will attract to invest greater levels of support for sport.
The third round of Sports Capital funding announced yesterday will bring to more than €100 million the money that has been invested in grassroots and national facilities under this Government.
“We made a commitment to two rounds,” said Minister for Sport Michael Ring, “but I said at the time of the last round this summer that I would press hard for another and though it was late in the day to make it onto the list of budget measures, it is great for local sport and the many jobs it creates that we have made it.”
The final figure on what will be available has yet to be determined.
Commitment
“There is certainly enough in this year’s budget to make the commitment but we will not know the final figure until there have been further talks with the Department of Finance over how much of a commitment can be made to make up the years of 2016 and 2017 over which much of the money will be drawn down,” said Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport General Secretary Tom O’Mahony.
The level of current account funding through the Irish Sports Council has been maintained at the 2014 level of €42.5 million. This may be a disappointment to some who would have liked to see an increase but again, this must be judged as a win in so much that across the rest of the Department, cost reductions of €50 million are being applied to areas like the Road Safety Authority which is now nearly self funding, and Tourism Ireland, despite its success in attracting 9.4% more tourists so far this year as opposed to last.
“This is the first time in six years that there has been no reduction in the current funding for Irish Sport,” said newly appointed President of the Federation of Irish Sport, Bernard Brogan.
“That, together with the announcement around the Sports Capital Funding is good news. As a country we now need to look at ways of increasing the revenues available to sport and the Federation will continue to work with Government to pursue our target of getting back to 2011 levels of funding by 2016 as well as ways of increasing levels of private sector investment into sport.”
Racing Winners
Big and unexpected winners from the budget were the sports of horse racing and greyhound racing which together heard about a rise in money through the long established Horse and Greyhound Fund of €14 million next year, from €54 million to €68 million.
This came about because of capital investment in racecourse facilities amounting to around €5 million and an increase in the revenues flowing to the Department of Finance from offline and online betting.
“The increase comes after six years of Budget cuts,” said Brian Kavanagh, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland.
“When it comes to Budget day you never expect good news but you hope for some – and today’s very welcome news shows the strong case made to government by the whole industry was listened to.”
Budget meetings will be held within both sports over the next two months to determine where the additional spending will be allocated.
