Budget 2023 allocates €8 million increase in funding for sport

Three different sectors of sport will benefit from an additional €8 million in funding announced by the Government on Tuesday as part of Budget 2023.

About half that figure will be directed towards athletes and athlete support in preparation for the Paris Olympics in 2024, now just 22 months away, and also the 2024 Paralympics also in Paris.

The additional €8 million in funding will also be used to further implement the Sport Action Plan including the Sport For All approach, aimed at enhancing participation opportunities for all.

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It will also be used to develop a new coaching fund. One of the criticisms of the Irish sport funding model in recent months was that it was too athlete-central, meaning many elite coaches were going unpaid, or in some cases left out of pocket. It is also aimed at attracting more coaches into Irish sport.

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Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers also announced there would be a new “multi-million euro funding package” to help sports clubs with rising energy impacting on floodlights, indoor facilities and swimming pools operating over the winter period.

It’s part of the many “one-off measures” in the Budget aimed at helping people through the cost of living crisis this winter.