It was widely leaked and seen in the aftermath as a ‘giveaway’ budget and sport was no exception with a 40% increase in the total allocation of current and capital commitment over 2015.
The bulk of this rise comes in a €25 million commitment on moving closer towards completion of the National Sports Campus. This year will see the completion of the new National Indoor Arena already rising from the ground alongside the GAA and Soccer training facilities that are now actively in use.
We have been given a guided tour of the new Institute of Sport facility which will be officially opened early in 2016 and there is new work being completed on a regular basis.
The largest single elect of the expenditure is a €47 million grant to Sport Ireland which now combines the work previously done separately by the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus Development Authority.
This represents a €3 million increase on the money available to National Governing Bodies in 2015 and is a welcome step on clawing back some of the cutbacks that had led to an overall 26% reduction since peak funding in 2017.
It was suggested by Department officials last night that a portion of this increase would be specifically aimed at sport playing a key role in the roll out of the National Physical Activity Plan though that has yet to be published as the Department of Health awaits further commitments from others in the state sector.
There will be a more than doubling of the money diverted to sport in 2016 from the Dormant Account Funds. This will amount to €4.5 million though there is no indication yet of how this will be distributed.
A €2 million ‘bonus’ in 2015 was spent on starting to develop a network of Community Sport Hubs across the country as well as of a National Sports Education and Training Hub and the delivery of 55 Community Coaching courses to jobseekers through a network of 27 Local Sports partnerships.
Three additional commitments have been made towards the pair Uí Caoimh redevelopment in Cork, the Kerry Sports Academy in Tralee and in support of Dublin City Council for the redevelopment of Dalymount Park as a municipal facility.
No figure has as yet been confirmed for this as detailed plans are not yet complete on what it will fully entail.
The Federation of Irish Sport, representing National Governing Bodies, made a call last week for the restoration of current funding to its 2007 levels. That was never going to happen in a single stroke but this increase, allied to the capital funding does represent a genuine commitment by Government to the role that sport can play in the life and soul of the nation.
It is of course small in comparison to money for transport, health, education and social welfare but we live in a complex society and these are requiring of much higher levels of the money that we pay in tax.
A pleasing aspect is that sport is also making its way across other areas within the Department. Money has been set aside within a €2 million fund in supporting tourism initiatives that will be specifically geared towards the bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.
Government will also point to increases in funding for Horse and Greyhound Racing that remain outside the remit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and instead are governed under the Department of Agriculture.
An additional €1.2 million is being provided for Greyhound Racing, bringing the commitment in 2016 to €14.8 Million.
€4.8 million extra will be provided for Horse racing which will receive €59.2 million in funding, largely as a result of ring fenced betting duty money through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund established under Charlie McCreevy.
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