Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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732. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment whether he will review current funding for national sporting organisations; if he is considering a budget allocation increase above the rate of inflation for Sporting Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30724/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Government investment in sport is essential to increasing participation levels in all sports, across all sectors of society. When the National Sports Policy was published in 2018, it set a commitment to double investment in sport to more than €220 million by 2027. The funding allocation for sport this year will be over €230 million. This means that, two years ahead of schedule, state funding for sport has more than doubled compared to 2018 levels.

In 2018, Sport Ireland’s total funding from the Department of Sport was €60.946 million. In 2025, that figure is €115.755 million, an increase of €6.976 million on the 2024 allocation.

In 2018, the total annual core funding for National Governing Bodies for sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) stood at €16.9 million. In 2025, that figure will be over €30 million. This is a substantial increase in funding. In particular, an extra €1.3 million in core funding was allocated under Budget 2025 to the NGBs and LSPs compared to 2024.

Funding for sport in 2026 will be considered by Government in the context of the annual budgetary process and I can assure the Deputy of my ongoing commitment to securing the necessary supports to continue the trajectory of increased funding for the sector.