It was a good day for USC cuts, public service workers and the coveted Rainy Day Fund, but not a great one for sport.
Budget 2017 Sports Funding
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donoghue today announced that sports funding will be cut by a whopping 17% in 2017, following a huge increase last year.
As you might expect, people were appalled by the decision - this following the heavily criticised appointment of Shane Ross as Minister For Sport earlier this year.
No new transport measures, and sports funding is cut. Maith thú, Minister Ross...
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) October 11, 2016
Sports funding cut by 17 per cent in budget. Crazy. Can they not see connection between sport and health?
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) October 11, 2016
Actually its worse for the Arts and Sport than I thought. #Budget2017 https://t.co/I2tEuERgbG
— Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (@AodhanORiordain) October 11, 2016
#Budget2017 introduces a sugar tax to tackle obesity and cuts sports funding at the same time
— Billie Sparks (@billiesparks) October 11, 2016
Tell me I've misread that our Gov has CUT sports funding by 17%, despite obesity probs & exercise being vital for mental health #craziness
— Anna Geary (@AnnaGCork) October 11, 2016
Funding for sport down 17 per cent while funding for arts, culture and film by 16 per cent. Thanks for investing in my heritage... #Budget17
— Oisín McCann (@OisMacC) October 11, 2016
@jeffcahill1 Rewarding failure. They've cut sports funding by 17% despite obesity probs & exercise being vital for mental health #Madness
— Derek Kelly (@delthehoop) October 11, 2016
It's worth noting that cuts to sport invariably follow Olympic cycles, but that the 2013 budget which immediately followed the London Olympics saw sport cut by just 2.9% - or €1.3 million from the 2012 allocation of €44.5m. This year's 17% reduction seems gargantuan in comparison,
Last year saw sport increased by a massive 40%, with the completion of the National Indoor Arena and the impending Rio Olympics calling for further investment.
It's not all bad news on the sports front, however, as a new round of Sports Capital grants were confirmed for the upcoming year. The Sports Capital Programme provides investment for local projects which promote participation in sport in towns across the country.
Sports Capital Grants, hello! New round to be introduced in 2017. #Budget2017
— Alan Farrell TD (@AlanFarrell) October 11, 2016
