The Government is giving more funding to greyhound and horse racing next year than Olympic sports, national governing bodies and local sports partnerships combined.
Anger has been expressed at a decision by the Irish Government to spend more on horse racing and greyhounds than Olympic sports and local sports combined.
Sport Ireland, an umbrella group for national sporting governing bodies – including Cycling Ireland – is objecting to not only higher spend on horse racing and greyhounds by the fact investment in both sectors is growing.
In the recent Budget – which sets out how the State is to spend its money next year – some €64 million was allocated for horse and greyhound racing; an increase of €6 million on this year.
In contrast considerably less - €47.266 million – is to be made available for Sport Ireland funding.
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It supports the participation and high performance programmes of 74 national sports organisations and 26 local sports partnerships as well as Coaching Ireland, the Institute of Sport, the National Sports Campus and its own research, anti-doping, and trails programme.
Funding for Sport Ireland remains flat for next year despite the increase for the horse racing and greyhound scene, which sees its public monies surpass the €62.6 million made available to it pre recession.
Minister for Sport Shane Ross cosying up to Irish sailor Annalise Murphy after she won silver in Rio. But now that it has come to backing athletes like her, and mass participation in sport, his record is not so good. He is opting instead for greyhounds and horses.
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Sport Ireland said the decision not to increase the funding for all of the areas that falls under its remit represents a decrease for those sports because of the new commitments it is taking on.
Those new areas include financial support for the Women’s Gaelic Players' Association and the operating subsidy for the National Sports Campus
Chief executive of the Federation of Irish Sport James Galvin said he and his colleagues had believed funding would be increased in the recent Budget for those sports involving people rather than racing horses and dogs.
“There is a strong feeling amongst our members that it is time that the Government took sport seriously,” he said, adding the lack of more funding from the Government was shocking.
“This is a source of great disappointment to our members who are working hard to achieve their dual mandate of increasing participation and allowing Irish athletes with talent to achieve on the world stage.”
While confirmation there would be another sports capital programme next year – which provides money for building sports facilities – was to be welcomed, he said, some of the planned developments were in doubt.
It was unclear, for example, whether the second phase of the National Indoor Arena would proceed, at the National Sports Campus.
Recent progress, if any, with the national velodrome is unclear though stickybottle has sought clarification from Cycling Ireland on that matter and we’ll bring you news of that when we have it.
Said Galvin: “Our members are also concerned that the National Sports Campus... will not be completed given the pressures likely to come on capital spending centrally; indeed, that facilities already constructed will be sufficiently well funded to operate.”
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