Sport Ireland has announced the 2023 package of support for High performance Sport. With a total investment of €24 million it is the highest ever.
Coming off the back of a best-ever High performance year in 2022, a total of 32 athletes have now been moved onto the highest ‘podium’ level of funding that gives individuals a payment of €40,000 towards their costs of taking part at the highest level. In last year’s funding package the number of athletes was only 19.
The funding is in line with the introduction last year of a multi-annual approach which means that sports are getting the same level of investment as they did last year, and as they will in 2024.
Rowing Ireland tops the list with €1.09 million, followed by Paralympics Ireland with €1 million. Amateur boxing comes in third with a figure of €965,000. They had not yet finalised their funding when the figures were announced last year with governance issues needing to be resolved.
This time around they got a special mention in terms of having stood up for their principles in refusing to send teams to the IBA World Championships on the basis of their being funded and in many ways seen as being controlled by Russia.
Increased prizemoney at those Championships, with the Women’s taking place later this month, make it a tough call for athletes as well though a record nine boxers are on the top level of podium funding in the individual carding scheme this year.
Full-Year Funding
Another major addition is the confirmation of a full-year player funding investment of €300,000 to support a semi-professional approach to international Women’s Hockey. €325,000 is also available, and increased by €25,000 on last year for the Golf Ireland Professional Scheme.
Another positive is in the continuation and growing recognition of the Athlete Career transition fund which allows for retiring athletes to avoid a cliff edge in terms of funding and also to benefit from physical and psychological support for up to four years after they have retired. This is lauded as a scheme well in advance of anything else in world sport and is managed through the Sport Ireland Institute of Sport.
Returning to the Programme funding Athletics, Hockey, Sailing, Horse Sport and Swimming all have a budget to work with of over €750,000. Cycling, Golf and Gymnastics come in at over €500,000. Rugby, Badminton, Cricket, Pentathlon, Triathlon, Judo and Canoeing get between €200,000 and €500,000 each while Taekwondo is the other sport to benefit from an investment of €150,000.
The one sport to perhaps be disappointed in not gaining High Performance Programme funding is Basketball but there are ongoing discussions about what level of performance is needed in order to join this funding stream.
A further €950,000 has been allocated to the Olympic Federation of Ireland (€500,000) and Paralympics Ireland (€450,000) for operations and administration support, while a sum similar to last year’s €1.9 million could yet be available to support individual elements through High Performance Impact Funding through the year.
Earlier
Today’s announcement comes two months earlier in the year than last year’s, which in terms of confidence and stability is another bonus.
The levels of investment for 2023 are substantial and see Sport Ireland tracking to invest over €67m in high performance sport between 2022 and 2024. €40 million of that will be towards programme funding. The equivalent sum invested in the four year cycle to the Tokyo Games was only €31 million
“Today’s High Performance funding announcement is a very welcome announcement after a highly successful year for Irish athletes on the high-performance stage in 2022, in various sporting codes,” said Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin.
“Through this funding we can continue to support and champion our athletes with their sporting journeys in European and World Championships, while also assisting them with achieving qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The National Sports Policy 2021 – 2032 aims to provide continuous support to our High-Performance Program through increased levels of funding and after last year’s successes, I believe we will continue to build on this in the near future.”
“Our athletes inspire the nation, through their individual and collective achievements,” added Minister of State for Sport Thomas Byrne.
“It is important to ensure that they are provided with the best opportunity to succeed. This strategic approach to multi-annual funding ensures that Team Ireland is well placed heading into Paris 2024.”
Stability and Certainty
“It enables our athletes to concentrate on their sports with a degree of stability and certainty, without having to contend with the extra pressure of future financial uncertainty. This was a key commitment set out in the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 and its delivery is already showing results given the record 100 major medals that were won by Irish athletes and teams in 2022. Our investment is clearly paying dividends, our athletes are delivering.”
“Sport Ireland’s High-Performance Strategy sets high ambitions for Ireland’s performance at international competitions,” said Sport Ireland CEO Dr Una May.
“In order for these objectives to be achieved, athletes and organisations require consistent support. Sport Ireland will invest over €40m in total in High Performance Programme Funding throughout the Paris Cycle (2021-2024).”
“This is an increase from €31m in the Tokyo Cycle (2017-2020). Through the delivery of a multi-year funding package, Sport Ireland is supporting athletes to focus fully on their training and preparation.”
Join us tomorrow morning when we will look in greater detail at the individual grants being made available to athletes.
