The nation's Government today announced that the body would be granted €40 million (£34 million/$54 million) for 2014 - a cut of €3 million (£2.5 million/$4 million) on 2013, following the trend of recent years which has seen its budget cut from €60 million (£51 million/$81 million) in 2008 to €43 million (£36 million/$58 million) in 2012.

The budget has to be shared between 93 organisations, including national governing bodies, local sports partnerships, high-performance athletes and participation programmes, and now amounts to a spend of just €8.73 (£7.38/$11.80) per citizen, representing only 0.3 per cent of the €13.3 billion (£11.2 billion/$17.9 billion) projected health spend.

"We are extremely disappointed with today's announcement which sees a further eight per cent reduction in current funding for Irish sport," read an FIS statement.

"This is the funding that enables over 100 Irish sports organisations to run sports development programmes essential to delivering sporting opportunities to all, provide much needed support to grassroots clubs and volunteers as well as providing assistance to our international athletes.

"This is the sixth year in a row for cuts - investment in sport already having fallen by some 25 per cent - and now sees Irish sport back to 2006 levels of support.

"This is particularly damaging given that consistent Government investment in sport only commenced in a meaningful way in 1999 and broke the €30 million (£25 million/$41 million) barrier for the first time in 2004."

The FIS is disappointed that its pre-budget submission, in which it set out a proposal where an investment of just €1 per citizen could create 150 jobs immediately, "seems to have received little or no consideration"




The FIS goes on to say that the funding reduction is likely to have a "significant impact" in reducing health spend in the future and that the Government has ignored its pre-budget submission in which is proposed an investment of €1 (£0.85/$1.35) per citizen, translating to an €4.5 million (£3.8 million/$6.1 million) increase in budget, to create 150 jobs.

"These were jobs which Irish Sport felt would be become self-sustaining over a two to three year period and for which, 2,000 graduates with sport specific training are qualifying every year," it added.

"That the potential of this proposal has not been grasped is all the more disappointing given the Government's insistence that job creation is the way out of our current economic troubles.

"Cuts to sports funding are at odds with wider Government policies and counter intuitive as sporting events have proven to be key drivers in boosting tourism figures during the gathering.

"As we slowly emerge from recession it is short sighted and unnecessary to target one of the performing sectors in the economy which has the potential to further create sustainable, indigenous employment and economic growth.

"The cuts come at a time of increasing market volatility affecting the funding models of many of our leading sporting organisations further jeopardising the future of sports development in Ireland."

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