IRFU Welcome Government Support Through Sport Ireland
The IRFU welcomes today’s Government announcement of investment in sport through Sport Ireland.
Sport Ireland today announced an investment of €40 million to National Governing Bodies for Sport (NGBs), High Performance athlete support and to the network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) for 2021.
The IRFU will receive €2,250,843 which supports vital coaching, games development and technical development programmes.
Speaking about the announcement, IRFU Director of Rugby Development Colin McEntee, said,
“We’d like to thank the Ministers and Sport Ireland for this very welcome investment. The impact of the pandemic on Irish Rugby has been well documented but we’re committed to getting everyone back playing when it is safe to do so.
“Our clubs, schools and volunteers have done incredible work but they need help and support. This funding is vital to help us get rugby up and running and to build the game back up again.’
Today’s announcement follows a year in which sport has been significantly impacted by Covid-19 restrictions in place since March 2020.
Welcoming today’s announcement, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin acknowledged the importance of sport and physical activity;
“The past year has shown us yet again the important role that sport and physical activity plays in our lives and the vital contribution it makes to our physical and mental wellbeing.
I am delighted to announce today’s funding to the sport sector to further assist the work of National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships to encourage people to be more active and to support their ongoing development. In Budget 2021, the Government made a commitment to support the sector and we are engaging closely with the sector to ensure their needs are met and that sport will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis in a strong position.”
Minister of State for Sport & the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers TD acknowledged the difficulties faced by the High Performance community in recent months, “Ireland has big ambitions on the international stage and the funding announced today will assist in furthering these ambitions. While the Olympic and Paralympic Games were postponed in 2020, the hard work and commitment from our high performance athletes, their National Governing Bodies and their support teams has continued over the past year and we are all now greatly looking forward to the summer games and beyond.
This funding will provide certainty to our organisations after this difficult period and cover costs like coach development, hosting of events and delivering strategic plans. I am also very pleased we are once again providing ring-fenced funding for the Women in Sport programmes through the Local Sports Partnerships.”