WHY IRISH SPORT MATTERS CAMPAIGN

All of Irish sport has joined together in a campaign to highlight the
 
importance of continued government funding of Irish sport.  Sport in
 
Ireland spoke with one voice as it delivered its submission to Minister for
 
Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr Martin Cullen, TD, earlier today, Wednesday, 21
 
October, 2009.    Joining forces in the campaign are the Federation of
 
Irish Sports, GAA, FAI, IRFU, the GUI, the Olympic Council of Ireland, the
 
Paralympic Council and Special Olympics Ireland.   The Federation
 
represents the governing bodies of 65 sports.
 
 
 
Outlining the reasons for the campaign Ms Sarah O’Connor, chief executive,
 
Federation of Irish Sports, said that “”In making this submission on behalf
 
of everyone involved in Irish sport, we wish to emphasise the important
 
role sport plays in Irish life, in improving public health, contributing to
 
economic activity, driving tourism, building communities and projecting a
 
positive image of brand “”Ireland”” at home and abroad.””
 
 
 
“”While we fully recognise today’s unprecedented economic conditions in
 
Ireland it is our considered belief that Irish sport has already suffered a
 
significant reduction in funding with the suspension of the Sports Capital
 
Programme and a 11% reduction in 2009 of Irish Sports Council funding.
 
The McCarthy Report now recommends further cuts.””
 
 
 
“”We would stress that sport is not looking for additional funding but
 
rather to protect existing and promised investment. This includes capital
 
developments such as the proposed National Sports Campus at Abbotstown
 
which has been granted full planning permission and which was intended to
 
be a cornerstone of Ireland’s programme in relation to the 2012 London
 
Olympics.””
 
 
“”In order to protect the future funding of Irish sport, we are now calling
 
on the government to ensure that:
 
 
 
   There is no further reduction in the budget allocated to sport through
 
      the Irish Sports Council
 
   Sport remains as a separate Government Department
 
   The  Sports Capital Programme is reinstated
 
   The National Sports Campus is developed.
 
 
 
Speaking at the briefing Mr Paraic Duffy, Director General of the GAA,
 
stressed that all of the sports bodies were agreed on what was required and
 
that they would be taking their message to the millions of people who both
 
participated and watched Irish sport every week.
 
 
 
Sport, he said, “”has a significant role to play in improving public health,
 
contributing to the economy, building communities, driving tourism and
 
establishing pride in Ireland both at home and abroad. Sport also has a
 
remarkable power to make us feel good and that is hugely important in the
 
current difficult times.
 
 
 
Every day across Ireland, thousands of people are involved in coaching,
 
playing, volunteering and administrating sports. It is part of who we are
 
and has a crucial role to play. We cannot underestimate the huge
 
significance of sport in our lives. One cannot imagine Ireland as a country
 
without sport
 
 
 
In the GAA alone Government funding has been vital to help put 75,000
 
primary school children through GAA development programmes in Dublin and to
 
also run development programmes throughout our 2,610 clubs.””
 
 
 
Mr John Delaney, CEO of the FAI, said that all present acknowledged the
 
commitment of government to Irish sport over the past decade.  “”The funding
 
both of capital projects, of sportsmen and women and of developmental
 
programmes has been hugely important to all of our sports.  It is not,
 
however, a particularly large budget by comparison to other countries and
 
to cut it back further at this point in time would have disastrous effects.
 
We believe it could set Irish sport back many years.””
 
 
 
“”It is recognised worldwide that you cannot simply turn sports funding on
 
and off.  If funding dries up programmes disappear and we lose sportsmen
 
and sportswomen with potential who may never come back into sport.””
 
 
 
“”We are all agreed that the Irish Sports Council has a made a major
 
difference in the way it has not alone administered the funding but also in
 
the way it has assisted in setting up key programmes countrywide.  Indeed,
 
the emphasis of the Irish Sports Council has been on building participation
 
with every €1 spent on high performance sport being matched by a €3 spend
 
on sports development. Their funds have already been cut.  Their budget
 
cannot and should not be cut further.””
 
 
 
Mr Philip Browne, CEO of the Irish Rugby Football Union, said it has been
 
estimated that sport contributes at least a twelvefold return on the
 
funding put in by government.  It also contributes 1.7% of Ireland’s GDP.
 
“”Major sporting occasions contribute millions to the local economy and
 
sustain many jobs across a range of industries.  It has been well
 
researched and documented that an Ireland v England rugby international
 
contributes in excess of €80 million to the local Dublin economy.””
 
 
 
“”It is often overlooked that the funding the government puts into the
 
Sports Capital Programme has a huge return.  If we take the construction of
 
the new Aviva Stadium,  the government has contributed €191 million.
 
During the construction period they will receive almost €150 million of
 
that back in VAT and taxes. The total project, which is also being funded
 
by the FAI and the IRFU, will represent an overall Government investment of
 
just over €400 million.””
 
 
 
“”And that is only part of the impact felt in economic terms.  Over the
 
three year period since the project was begun, there has been up to 800
 
jobs created by the construction.  When finished, the stadium has the
 
potential to deliver up to 1,000 jobs on match days.””
 
 
 
“”Once we start holding other events, the stadium will become an income
 
earner for the local Dublin economy, creating indirect jobs and also
 
generating government revenue.  Other indirect benefits come from the
 
exposure that major events generate for Ireland.””
 
 
 
Mr Patrick Hickey, President of the OCI, said he was delighted that sport
 
had united in the campaign.  He said it was all too easy to bask in the
 
glory of Irish sporting success without thinking of just what had gone into
 
creating that success.
 
 
 
He said that it was essential that the government continued to give full
 
backing to Irish sport if we want to continue to be successful.  He said
 
that if investment in sport was curtailed at this point in time that not
 
alone could Ireland virtually write off any chance of success at the 2012
 
London Olympics, the closest thing to a “”home games”” for Ireland but in all
 
likelihood we could also forget about Rio in 2016.
 
 
 
The Programme
 
Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sports, said that the
 
programme was backed by each and every sports governing body and that those
 
NGBs would be asking their members to lobby their local TDs to help the
 
campaign realise its aims.
 
 
 
She also noted that following the briefing, copies of the submission would
 
be sent to every TD in the country along with a fact sheet outlining the
 
potential impact of funding cuts on sport in their local area.
 
 
 
“”We have also sought meetings with the Oireachtas Committee on Sport and it
 
is out intention to request further meetings with the officials in the
 
Department of Finance.””
 
 
 
She noted that copies of the complete submission to government could be
 
accessed at  www.irishsports.ie.
 
 
 
In conclusion she asked the media to back the campaign.  “”Every day our
 
sports media devote a huge amount of time and space to sport.  They realise
 
just how important a part sport plays in all our lives.  We would hope that
 
you will help us in our efforts to remind everyone of the significance of
 
sport to Ireland.””

Download the document here => Submission document

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