Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Sport Ireland is the agency responsible for the development of sport in Ireland and in that capacity oversees the delivery of a wide range of funding and other services to support Team Ireland's participation in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

These supports are delivered in accordance with the Sport Ireland High Performance Strategy 2021-2032 which is entering its fourth year of implementation and is widely recognised in the sector as being a game-changer for high performance sport in Ireland.

I am pleased to report to the Deputy that preparations for Paris 2024 are progressing positively. Sport Ireland is collaborating closely with both the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland who will lead Team Ireland to the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, respectively. The Government is committing a record level of investment funding to support our participation in these Games.

For the Paris cycle, which covers the four-year period from 2021 to 2024, the Government is investing some €89 million in High Performance Sport, which is more than 50% higher than that for Tokyo 2020. Earlier this week, I announced details of the 2024 high performance support programme which amounts to €25 million, the largest such programme ever. This investment encompasses a variety of funding streams, including High Performance Programme Funding to National Governing Bodies; direct athlete investment of €4.4 million; Impact Funding that targets new and innovative performance opportunities; High Performance Coaching supports; and also world-class services provided through the Sport Ireland Institute.

The Sport Ireland National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown is also home to several athletes and teams preparing for Paris 2024. The facilities at the Sport Ireland Campus are on a par with the best in the world and provide our athletes with an opportunity to prepare for Paris 2024 in a home environment with close proximity to Paris.