Together with the €18.3 million given in core funding to National Governing Bodies outside of the GAA, IRFU and FAI last week, and the €1.07 million for other bodies, Sport Ireland announced an amount of €11.9 million that will be distributed between the 29 Local Sports Partnerships.
This includes €415,000 to support specific Women in Sport projects, an increase from €277,000 that was made available in this area in 2024.
Overall the money represents a five per cent increase on that which was distributed in core funding to the secto last year. LSP’s can also apply for other streams most notably that from the Dormant Accounts Fund.
€1.26 million of the funding goes towards the core operational costs and marketing of the programmes and activities provided by the LSP’s, mirroring the the National Sports Policy statement that they “must be resourced to promote the broadest possible participation ensuring quality accessibility for all groups.”
Another €1,01 million is specifically targeted towards the employment of Community Sports Development Officers in each area. The advent of multi annual funding from next year will make this an easier task avoiding the challenge of finding really good staff but not being able to commit to longer term contracts of employment and therefore losing them.
€1.217 million is going towards the employment of Sports Inclusion development Officers, in keeping with the broad government theme of inclusion. These posts were first created in 2018 and have served the sector well. They will be increasingly important with the enhanced emphasis in this area.
Together with funding towards Programme managers in each LSOP, there is now funding towards the employment of a minimum six staff in each local authority area. Sufficient for some counties, a contribution towards the bigger scale of others.
The application process for this funding is complex and detailed and the overall figure is divided into multiple very specific areas that need to be tracked.
The top 10 Local Sports partnerships in terms of the funding received from Sport Ireland towards their core activities are:
Limerick LSP – €613,413
Meath – €558,722
Cork LSP – €536,675
Dublin City LSP – €510,474
Kilkenny LSP – €504,749
Waterford LSP – €500,613
Kildare LSP – €459,430
Sligo LSP – €458,189
Clare LSP – €442,691
Tipperary LSP – €440,250
The larger population areas covered outside of the Top 10 include:
Galway LSP – €402,023
Fingal LSP -€ 370,653
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown LSP – €351,838
South Dublin LSP – €351,041
Further Reading for Sport for Business members: Sport Ireland NGB Core Funding Revealed for 2025
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
The LSP network is one of the most important channels through which the harder to reach cohorts in terms of age, gender, disability, race and socioeconomic factors are considered. Their ongoing funding and access to Dormant Account Funding in addition to these distributions is vital to maintain.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
The Sport for Business Daily and Extra Bulletins go out twice a day with all the news that is relevant within the commercial and advocacy worlds of irish Sport.
MEMBERSHIP AND EVENTS
Sport Ireland, The Department of Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Dublin City Council and Dun laoghaire Rathdown County Council are among the 300+ organisations that make up the Sport for Business community. Our Daily content on the commercial world of sport is read by 40,000 readers each month. See below for our membership and our upcoming events.
The Sport for Business Membership comprises over 300 organisations, including all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies.
