Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak here in the Dáil today to recommend the budget from the point of view of its impact on our sporting sector as well as our postal policy and post office network. The Government remains committed to supporting our sporting ecosystem in order that more people can participate in, and benefit from, sport and fulfil their potential, from grassroots right up to high-performance. In this regard, Government has invested well over €1 billion in sports infrastructure and development across the country since 2018, when the national sports policy was first published. That return on investment in terms of community participation, inclusion, integration and physical and mental well-being is substantial. The allocation for next year in this budget will reinforce this.

The allocation for the sports programme in budget 2026 is more than €290 million, marking an increase of just under €60 million, or 26%. We have clearly exceeded the national sports policy commitment to double Government funding for sport by 2027 compared with 2018 levels. The allocation to Sport Ireland now stands at just under €154 million, marking an increase of €38.2 million, or 33%. There is a significant increase in capital funding to enable the development of the national velodrome and badminton centre on the Sport Ireland campus in Blanchardstown. This project will bring many benefits, not least to our track cyclists, who currently have to travel abroad to access such a facility for training.

The increased current funding provision for Sport Ireland will also support a number of initiatives, including League of Ireland football academies, investment in a grassroots golf participation programme, as well as additional funding for the Irish Rugby Football Union, IRFU, the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA, and the Gaelic Players Association. Within these measures, there is a 5.5% increase in funding to high-performance sport, which will bring it to €28.5 million in total and will mean we will more than deliver on our commitment to reach €30 million per annum of investment and annual funding before the 2028 LA Olympics.

There is €10.77 million allocated in the budget in current funding for Sport Ireland and this will provide for a number of things, including: increased core funding for national governing bodies of sport and local sports partnerships of €2 million; enhanced core funding of €250,000 for both the IRFU and the GAA, which will be the first time their funding has been increased since 2008; an additional €1.5 million to support high-performance programmes; support of €3 million for League of Ireland football academies; funding of just under €750,000 to support the growth of hurling across the country in parts and regions where it is not currently strong; an additional €1.6 million to support inter-county Gaelic games players and the Gaelic Players Association; funding of just under €500,000 to the IRFU to support the building of high-performance pathways for female rugby players; and an investment of €500,000 in grassroots golf participation as part of the legacy programme flowing from major golf events like the Ryder Cup in 2027. There is also an additional €500,000 to support Sport Ireland's work with sports legacy programmes and events.

There is €58 million in capital allocated to the community sports facility fund for the year ahead. This will support approved projects coming on stream under existing rounds of the fund. Over the year ahead, I also intend to open applications for a new round of the community sports facility fund in the first part by the end of spring of the coming year, with announcements on funding approvals by the end of the year.

The funding allocation that has been allocated in yesterday's budget will support the projects that have been already approved and that are happening on an ongoing basis at the moment, following on from the most recent sports capital round last year and the previous rounds where funding is still being drawn by sports clubs. The large scale sports infrastructure fund has almost doubled in funding for the year ahead, bringing the total allocation to €38 million for 2026. This will facilitate the further drawdown under the 2024 round of applications when a total of €173 million was announced for 35 projects. There has also been a significant increase in major sports events funding, which will be over €22 million in the year ahead. Much of this will be directed towards our commitments to the hosting of the Ryder Cup in 2027 and the UEFA European Football Championship in 2028. Following on from the first Government policy and strategy framework for the hosting of major international sporting events in 2024, this continued investment will help to assess potential events such as the possible co-hosting of the 2030 ICC Men's T20 World Cup with the UK and the future hosting of the Open Golf Championship as well.

In relation to postal policy, the Government recognises the special role that An Post and the post office network play in the lives of local communities across the country. As I stated before, An Post is central to providing invaluable support for some of the most vulnerable in our society through the provision of social welfare payments, free postage to care homes, community focal points and many other valuable services. I also recognise that there are challenges regarding the network, including uncertainty regarding global trade and the continuing decline in mail volumes and the growth of digitalisation. I will bring proposals to the Government to enhance support for the post-office network and to this end, the allocation provided to the Department has increased from €10 million in 2025 to €15 million in 2026. A new scheme will be required to disperse this funding to our post offices. However, I am confident that funding will be in place next year, which will offer significant assistance to aid the sustainability and enhance the value the network brings to our local communities. It has been a key ask of our post office networks and the Irish Postmasters Union in particular. We know the pressure that many local post offices have faced over recent years. The Government significantly stepped up to the mark with the €10 million multiyear agreement, which runs out at the end of this year. The ask had been for an increase of €5 million, which would be a 50% increase. This budget provides for that allocation. It will be subject to agreement but really importantly and reassuringly for the post office network across the country, as a result of this budget the funding is now in place and available to conclude that agreement.

I commend the budget to the House. I have discussed the impact from a post office point of view, and dealing with the sport aspect, I think overall, it is a really strong budget. It provides a significant increase to our national governing bodies, which deliver supports and activities through sporting clubs around the country. It also ensures that high performance is well supported. We have seen the impact of a good, co-ordinated approach to sport in terms of the performance of our athletes at an international level in recent times. Recently, at the World Athletic Championship, we saw for the first time ever Kate O'Connor take a medal in the pentathlon. Cian McPhillips came so close in the 800 m race on the track. That is also representative of many of the other international events where athletes compete on an ongoing basis. In the Paris Olympics as well, our athletes' performances did the country credit. This gives inspiration to people of all ages right across the country to participate in sport and to be active in any way they can. The Government's objective is to support the many people who work on a voluntary basis across this country, day in and day out and who are making their way at the moment in many cases, to training and support and to give of their time generously to make sure that people of all ages can avail of support and advice and enhance their well-being in the process. The Government recognises and values this work and commitment that people give. We want to continue the journey of improving the facilities available to people in every community and every sport to be able to enjoy themselves and to be able to be physically active. This budget, in terms of its capital investment and its current investment, achieves that objective and I commend it to the House.

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