Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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68. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on the National Sports Policy 2018 - 2027, in particular projects or initiatives supported in County Meath as part of it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45586/23]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Implementation of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 (NSP) continues to proceed satisfactorily and I am pleased to inform the Deputy that, half way through the 10-year lifespan of the policy, some 80% of its 57 actions have either been completed already or are well on the way to completion.

Since the launch of the NSP in mid-2018, the Government has placed a special emphasis on the need to increase investment in sport at all levels, to support the delivery of initiatives and projects in every county in the country, including County Meath, which have benefitted both grassroots and high performance athletes. In the National Sports Policy we outlined our aim to double the level of Exchequer funding for sport by 2027. In 2018, at the start of the NSP, the budget for sport was €111 million. With a sports budget of €183 million for 2024, we are well on track to achieve our investment target. Since 2018, the budget is up by almost 65%.

Notwithstanding the challenging and disruptive impact of the pandemic, significant progress has been made on each of the NSP's three high-level goals, namely increased participation, more excellence and improved capacity. It is acknowledged however that further progress will need to be made over the remaining four years of the policy and indeed beyond that. For instance, although sport participation levels are improving post-pandemic, the 60% target remains a challenging and ambitious one. In addition, there are outstanding governance issues to be addressed and these will continue to receive priority policy attention.

The 2024 budget allocation involves an increase of almost €7.4 million in Sport Ireland’s budget and will allow Sport Ireland to increase its funding support in a number of very important areas, including core funding for National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Women in sport funding.

• An additional €2 million will be made available under the Women in sport programme. The Government is committed to ensuring that we continue to provide increased opportunities for female participation in sport at all levels. This increased level of funding will allow NGBs and Local Sports Partnerships to deliver those opportunities so that we can eliminate the gender participation gap, which is still at 5%.
• We fully recognise the increasing pressures that our sporting organisations are under and so we are providing an additional €2 million in core funding to support them in carrying out their valuable work.
• In line with the aims of the High Performance Strategy 2021-2032 and the NSP, we are also providing an additional €1 million for high performance sport. This will support Team Ireland in their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and continue to develop the coaching and pathways support envisaged in our National High Performance Strategy.
• The additional funding being provided to Sport Ireland will also support programmes that assist those with a disability and the most disadvantaged in our society to actively participate in sport.