Level and timing of funding warmly greeted

A total of £5.45 million has been allocated to the National Governing Bodies of Irish sport for the coming year, including the Government's additional commitment of £1 million to assist athletes in preparation for the Syndey Olympics.

This figure represents a 30 per cent increase on the total funding of last year, and is the first set of grants announced by the Irish Sports Council since becoming a statutory body last July. Yesterday, there was over £4 million distributed to the majority of governing bodies (NGB's), with remaining allocations for organisations such as the Olympic Council of Ireland and Paralympic Council of Ireland to be released in the coming weeks. Another 14 NGB's have yet to receive details of their allocation.

The Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI), the recently formed amalgamation of BLE and the NACA, leads the grant allocations with a total of £400,949. That includes a specific figure of £135,000 for international training and competition in the build-up to Sydney next September, which a number of Irish athletes are already availing of.

Nick Davis, the joint president of the AAI, welcomed the early notification of the grants, - the timing of which had been criticised in recent years. "We are delighted with the level of funding," he said, "but most of all with the timing. It's a lot earlier than previous years and means we can press ahead with all our programmes in the coming months."

A number of organisations will receive significant increases on last year, including the Irish Sailing Association, whose figure of £281,138 is up some £90,000 and includes £157,000 towards Olympic competition and training. The Irish Amateur Rowing Union (£263,076) is also up some £64,000, including a £140,510 allocation for Olympic preparations and £35,000 towards the cost of an executive director.

The Equestrian Federation's grant totalled just over £180,000, with a figure of £43,740 for special Sydney preparations such as quarantine facilities and transportation of horses. But on the recommendations of the Federation, funding to the Show Jumping Association has been withheld for the time being in view of the recent difficulties within the organisation. John Treacy, chief executive of the Sports Council, again urged all involved with show jumping to work together to resolve these outstanding issues as soon as possible.

The grants were, for the most part, warmly greeted by the NGB's attending the announcement in Dublin. Tom Fennessey, president of the Rowing Union, said that "they came at a most opportune time in this Olympic year". In addition, the Irish Sports Council will next month announce some £1.3 million for individual elite athletes under the International Carding Scheme.

The Irish Cycling Federation already has a number of cyclists qualified for Sydney, and a grant of £143,243 includes £45,000 to assist those cyclists in their preparations. Similarly, the Irish Canoe Union, who received £198,163, have two Olympic qualifiers to date in Ian Wiley and Eadaoin Ni Challarain.

Nonetheless, Treacy admitted that for a lot of sports, reaching the Olympics has become increasingly difficult. "We have a great tradition in sports like boxing," he said, "but I understand that it is becoming a lot more difficult to make the standards there with so many more European countries fighting for qualification."

Chairman of the Sports Council, Pat O'Neill, said that these grants "allow all NGB's to finalise their plans for this year and progress their programmes to provide the leadership needed for their sports, along with the services required by their members". O'Neill also explained that the grant for the Olympic Council of Ireland would be finalised at the Sports Council's next board meeting, scheduled for the beginning of next month.

Additional support was also made to certain governing bodies in delivering their sport to key target groups such as disadvantaged communities, women and young people, and people with disability. For example, £40,000 of Tennis Ireland's grant (£221,889) will go towards their Parks Tennis programmes, with another £26,000 towards the cost of hosting Davis Cup matches. The GAA, IRFU and the FAI will all receive funds later in the year for projects under the Disadvantaged Areas schemes.

The Minister of Sport, Dr Jim McDaid, paid special tribute to the members of the Sports Council in ensuring the grant allocations were made so early in the year. "This support, in terms of direct finance, coaching advice and sport science analysis and guidance, together with the ambitious sport capital programme in providing facilities, now matches that which is provided in most countries in the European Union," he said.