Sport Ireland will invest €32m in national governing bodies, direct athlete support and the Local Sports Partnership Network (LSP) during 2019.

The funding – which represents a €6.5m increase on the investment made in 2018 – includes an investment of €12.845m in NGBs,more than €9m in high-performance programmes and €7.29m in LSP.

There will also be a €500,000 pot reserved for targeted funding for projects, designed to assist with the preparation for key events in 2019.

According to Sport Ireland chair Kieran Mulvey, the funding follows on from the publication of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027, which placed a strong emphasis on increasing participation in sport and physical activity by all members of society.

“2018 was a landmark year for Irish sport," he said. "At a strategic level, the publication of the new National Sports Policy was a key milestone for the sports sector.

"On the international stage we saw sustained success from our high performance teams and athletes, while the NGBs and LSPs are continuing to support strong participation in sport among people of all ages.

"Through a substantial budget increase for 2019, the Government has responded very positively to the case made by Sport Ireland and the Irish sporting community with a broad commitment to sport and physical activity.

"It is vital that our NGBs and LSPs are well supported and the increase in funding this year means that our funded bodies will be well equipped to deliver on their objectives as we look towards next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games and increasing participation in sport across the board.”

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