Special funding for 13 sports

Sports grants: The Irish Sports Council has provided special funding to the 13 sports it believes offer the best chance of success in major international competitions up to and including the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Just over €3.5 million has been allocated for 2005, but only half the designated funding has been made available to athletics and equestrian sports pending the putting in place of elements of their high performance plans.

There are no surprises in the choice of sports, which are mostly those targeted for the Athens Olympics.

But the Sports Council has made some notable changes in the criteria of all the performance plans in order to address the findings of the Athens Review, which stressed the importance of focusing on junior and developmental athletes.

The 13 sports targeted are athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, clay pigeon shooting, cycling, equestrian sports, rowing, sailing, swimming, tennis, hockey and golf.

The allocations range from €450,000 (equestrian sports) to €65,000 (clay pigeon shooting) - and are designated primarily to meet international training and competition expenses.

The Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) has been allocated €324,000, roughly what they were looking for, but 50 per cent of that has been withheld until notable milestones have been passed in the current restructuring of the organisation.

Finalising their high performance plan wasn't easy for the AAI, but John Treacy, the chief executive of the Sports Council, says he is confident the governing body is embracing change.

"Essentially, they needed a greater level of detail in their targets," said Treacy. "And also the targeting of athletes, which needed to be tighter at the top, and broader at the base. So I think the main strengths of their plan now is that they have set clear targets in terms of the athletes they have and the championships they want to be successful in."

That, however, is only the start of the change process under way in Irish athletes. A strategic review was drawn up in January and since then the ISC sent in Gary Owens as an interim chief executive to reform the day-to-day operations, and ultimately oversee the appointment of a full-time chief executive.

The AAI have called an egm for July 16th for a full debate on that process, and it's no secret that certain elements of the association are resistant to change.

Yet, Treacy was clear on the way forward: "The change process is looking at operation policy and key positions, and the AAI will need to take a big step forward. Debate on that is welcomed, but people have to look at the bigger picture, and what all sporting organisations are now doing. The AAI are still operating off the back of very hard-working volunteers, but that's not sustainable in the long term.

"But we have no intention of taking over the AAI. We've another 65 national governing bodies to look after. What we do want is a strong, vibrant organisation going forward. We won't be dictating to anyone, but we do need to ensure that our investment is well spent."

That means the Sports Council will have a spot on the interview board when it finally comes to the appointment of the CEO, which Treacy predicted would be completed by the end of the year.

The €450,000 allocated for equestrian sports will focus on eventing and show jumping, and to a lesser extent dressage.

But, like the AAI, the Equestrian Federation of Ireland only gets half that funding immediately, and the other half is conditional on the establishment of a steering group to oversee the implementation of the Connellan Report.

The Irish track and field teams for this weekend's European Cup Group B competition in Lieria, Portugal, have been weakened by several notable withdrawals.

Karen Shinkins is out of the 400 metres owing to a stomach upset brought on by a trip to Mexico and her place is likely to go to Joanne Cuddihy. Elaine McCaffrey has been added to the relay squad.

Ciarán McDonagh has withdrawn from the long jump and is replaced by Darragh O'Farrell of Borrisokane. Chris McDermott of Roscommon has been called up for the 110 metres hurdles in the absence of Peter Coghlan.

Promotion to Group A is the ultimate aim, but the high level of competition will make that difficult, especially with Britain among the women's teams.

2005 Funding

Athletics €324,000

Badminton €80,000

Boxing €400,000

Canoeing€254,000

Clay Pigeon Shooting €65,000

Cycling €180,000

Equestrian €450,000

Rowing €400,000

Sailing €400,000

Swimming €190,000

Tennis €150,000

Hockey €300,000

Golf (men) €290,000

Golf (women) €80,000

Total €3,563,000

Addition funding of €447,329 to the Olympic Council of Ireland, and 260,000 to the Paralympic Council of Ireland.