Main sports are left counting their losses

FOR THE various and sometimes curious governing bodies of Irish sport this was pay day – or rather the pay cut, and although there’s nothing particularly drastic, the three main field sports are definitely left counting their losses.

GAA director general Páraic Duffy admitted certain coaching positions would be reconsidered as a result of the cuts, if not this year then next year, as there was only so much the GAA “can absorb” and it’s “an issue that has to be addressed”.

The FAI and IRFU are faced with a similar scenario, given the combined Government allocation for participation programmes in the three main field sports has been cut by 10 per cent, from €9.2 million in 2011, to €8.3 million for this year.

With the Irish Sports Council’s overall budget for 2012 already hit with a 5 per cent cut – from €46.8 million in 2011, to €44.5 million for 2012 – it was agreed to pass on the biggest hit to the GAA, FAI and IRFU, who are still largely self-sufficient, with 5 per cent cuts. There were 2.5 per cent cuts for the smaller sports, who remain almost entirely dependent on Sports Council funding.

“We knew there was going to be a drop, and understand the situation, that money is scarce,” said Duffy, responding to the GAA’s funding being cut from €2.97 million to €2.7 million – with the FAI similarly cut from €3.35 million to €2.99 million, and the IRFU from €2.91 million to €2.61 million.

“We have had cuts for a couple of years, although it is a bit bigger this year,” added Duffy, pointing to the €3.24 million the GAA had received in more recent years. “So far we haven’t actually made any cuts, and actually put in a little extra money ourselves, but I’m not so sure we can sustain that.

“We haven’t let any coaches go, but I think maybe in 2013 we will have to look again at the number of people we employ. We put our own money in anyway, around €10 million, and I think this year we can absorb the cuts. But if the funding continues to fall it will have implications.

“We use this funding for coaches that go into schools, and by and large have kept the same number of coaches, in effect by putting in more GAA money. We’ll do that this year as well. We’ve contracts ending at the end of the year and so on, but there’s no question of letting anyone go. With people retiring, moving on and so on, you’re not going to make people redundant, but you just mightn’t replace people. If revenues are challenged, and if Government funding is challenged, you have to do less, there’s no escaping that.”

Outside of the GAA, FAI and IRFU, the €10.9 million in “core” funding for some 58 governing bodies of Irish sport effectively keeps them in business from one year to the next – and is not significantly down on the €11.7 million awarded in 2011. It still represents about one quarter of the Sports Council’s overall budget, with a further €5.5 million going to the Local Sports Partnerships (down from €5.8 million), which cater for a broad range of sporting participation programmes.

The most significant cut is to Special Olympics Ireland, which drops some 20 per cent from €1,765,000 in 2011 to €1,200,000 this year, on the condition there will be no cuts for two years.

Of the national governing bodies, Athletics Ireland remains the largest single beneficiary, although its allocation drops from €976,679 to €942,000. Basketball Ireland (€590,349) and Rowing Ireland (€218,698) are unchanged, and there are a few exceptions where allocations were increased, namely the Golfing Union of Ireland (from €98,208 to €148,298), Gymnastics Ireland (from €224,199 to €234,199), and the Irish Sailing Association (from €328,750 to €447,313).

With projected figures of around €40 million in total Sports Council funding by 2015 (a drop of 4.5 million, further cuts over the next three years are inevitable: it was announced last month that given the importance of 2012 for Irish sport, and particularly Olympic athletes, the high performance budget was left untouched at €10.5 million – although that is certain to be targeted for cuts in 2013.

In the meantime the GAA, FAI and IRFU are left to consider how to deal with the cuts: “We’ve always said the games development we do not touch,” said Duffy, “and that is still the position for now. But that can’t be written in stone. If funding continues to drop, we have to look again at that.”

Major Field Sports

(2011 allocation in brackets)

FAI (€3,352,000) €2,990,000;

GAA (€2,970,000) €2,700,000;

IRFU (€2,911,000) €2,610,000;

Total (€9,233,000) €8,300,000

GRANTS 2012: KEY POINTS

Total package of €25.58m across all sporting organisations.

€10.96m in “core” funding for 58 governing bodies of sport.

€8.3m to GAA, FAI and IRFU to support their participation programmes.

€5.5m to 31 Local Sports Partnerships;

€1.02m in grants under the Women in Sport Programme;

Special Olympics Ireland cut from €1,765,000 to €1,200,000;