One of the most important stakeholders in Irish sport is the Government and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media where responsibility for it sits.
In a fast paced world, we sometimes forget to mark the moments that make up time, and the decisions that make the world we inhabit a better place.
The Department has done so in a reflection on the year gone by with a list of 14 key elements of policy and execution over 2023. We have listed them below with a link to the coverage we gave them through the past 12 months on Sport for Business.
- €24m investment in high-performance sport
- Doubling in annual funding for Women in Sport programmes
- Significant progress made in respect of 40% gender balance board membership target
- Successful joint bid by Ireland and UK joint to host the EURO 2028
- €35m allocated under the Sports Energy Support Scheme
- New round of Sports Capital and Equipment Programme launched
- Over €37m in top-up allocations under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund and new round to open in first half of 2024
- New Similar Access requirement for men and women under Sports Capital and Equipment Programme and Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund
- €500,000 in additional funding for Women’s and Girls’ soccer in recognition of Women’s World Cup
- Launch of new template National Code of Conduct for Irish sport
- National Digital Database for Sport & Recreation Amenities – “Get Ireland Active” – launched
- New chair and two new board members appointed to Sport Ireland
- Planning permission secured for National Velodrome and Badminton Centre
- Dedicated OFI and athletes building, “The Long Barn” opened on the National Sport Campus
“2023 was a watershed year for women’s sport, with the Irish team’s participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, proving a personal highlight for me,” said Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne.
“This year, I was proud to introduce a new “Similar Access Rule” for men and women under the Sport Capital and Equipment Programme and the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, oversee significant progress in respect of the 40% gender balance on boards target, and double the funding for Women in Sport Programmes under Budget 2024.”
“I am determined to see our participation levels increased and to meet this ambition, I understand the need to have adequate facilities in place. Earlier this year, I was very glad to open a new round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme for applications and more recently, I announced over €37m in “Top Up” grant allocations to existing projects under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund to assist the delivery of those projects. And in looking ahead, I look forward to seeing a new round of the Fund open for applications in 2024.”
It may be that we have an Autumn General Election in 2024, it has to be held by Spring 2025 at the latest, and whenever it comes and whatever t produces we will continue to advocate that Sport’s importance to society be recognised and supported in as many ways as possible.
