AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT ON BEHALF OF IRISH SPORT

We are writing on behalf of everyone who is involved in sport in Ireland; the participants at all levels, the coaches, the administrators, the volunteers and the countless people for whom sport provides much welcome relief from the difficult times we are living through.

We believe it is fair to say that sport has never been more important. Sport has a real capacity to lift everyone in the country whether they participate in any aspect of sport or merely follow Irish sport on television or through the wider media.

And we are talking about the positive effects of sport at every level not just the elite participants, important as they are to us all. What other aspect of life in Ireland gets 270,000 people to volunteer their time on a weekly basis to ensure that 1.7 million people participate in sport in 12,000 clubs, in every parish in Ireland.

It is possibly because of this input from volunteers that there is a popular misconception in some areas that SPORT JUST HAPPENS. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Sport as we know it in Ireland today, is the result of good planning, enlightened administration and financial investment particularly by the Government on behalf of all tax payers. That funding is the lifeblood of sport in Ireland and the catalyst for all that follows.

On a purely practical level, for every euro invested by Government the sports themselves invest a further two euros. Research published recently found that for every €100 invested by Government (both National and Local) the return to the Exchequer is €149.

It is the funding that drives the programmes at grassroots and schools level; the programmes that eventually lead to the elite performers that represent us all on the world stage.

We cannot overstress just how important the current funding is to the future well-being of sport in Ireland. While we fully understand the difficulties faced by the country and the pressures to make savings, it would be difficult over-emphasize just how important the impact of the €49.6 million given to sport through the Irish Sports Council is. It is the seed capital for activity and an industry worth in excess of €1.8 billion to Ireland each year.

It is essential that Government funding is maintained if we are to continue to develop sport at every level. It must be remembered only a small proportion goes to our elite performers. Over 80% of the money provided by the Government is invested in sport at grassroots level in creating the programmes that will produce top class athletes and just as importantly help improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens.

Such funding has never been more important. Right across the country clubs at all levels are finding that other sources of funding are drying up. They are finding it increasingly difficult to attract sponsorship, while the subscriptions normally paid by club members are becoming increasingly challenging to collect.

As you will be aware programmes like the Sports Capital Grants and the Local Swimming Pool Programme have been suspended and that is totally understandable in the current climate. While we would love to see them reinstated at some time in the future it would be disastrous for Irish sport if this was in any way at the expense of current funding.

As you will see from this document Irish sport is once again united in making this submission to you. Our single and united focus is that there should be no further cuts to the budget allocated to Irish sport through the Irish Sports Council for current expenditures.