Sport gets £8.5m cash injection

John Treacy, chief executive of the Sports Council, has said Richard Burrows’ challenge to Pat Hickey for the Olympic Council of Ireland presidency is healthy for Irish sport.

John Treacy, chief executive of the Sports Council, has said Richard Burrows’ challenge to Pat Hickey for the Olympic Council of Ireland presidency is healthy for Irish sport.

"As a statutory body, we cannot be seen to be taking sides," Treacy said as the Irish Sports Council announced a cash injection of £8.5 million to sporting bodies this year, the biggest investment of its kind in Irish sport.

"But, of course, it is healthy for Irish sport to have some debate on which direction sport should be going."

Neutral they may be in the election campaign, but council chairperson Pat O’Neill took umbrage at remarks made by Pat Hickey last week. Hickey claimed on radio that the Irish Sports Council intended to subsume the OCI within its structures.

"There is no truth in any view held anywhere that we wish to subsume the OCI," O’Neill clarified.

"The Act under which the Irish Sports Council was established disallows any such development. It was fully debated in both houses of the Oireachtas and no member referred to the possibility of combining the OCI with the Irish Sports Council."

O’Neill also refuted claims that National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are afraid to criticise the Sports Council in case their funds are snipped, something Hickey also alleged.

"There is no NGB in fear of its funds. If it wants to criticise, it should feel free to do so," O’Neill said. "Since my appointment as chairperson in July 1999, I have not received a single representation from Mr Hickey regarding any complaint relating to funding by an Olympic Council of Ireland member."

This year’s funding for the OCI was not announced yesterday. This, along with funding for the Paralympic Association and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) will be released at a later date. The Sports Council are working closely with the IABA in staging the World Boxing Championships at Belfast, so their allocation is being delayed until figures are finalised.

The £8.5 million pumped into NGBs this year is an increase of £4 million on year 2000. And every one of the 65 NGBs are covered, from horseshoe pitching to basketball, baton twirling to canoeing.

The FAI and the GAA get the biggest slice of the pie, with each organisation getting £1 million to promote greater under age participation in their sport. The IRFU also received £500,000 for the same purpose.

The biggest grant allocation went to Athletics Ireland (£519,162), not surprising considering it is the year of the World Cross country championships and the World Track and Field championships. Equestrian were the next biggest winners with £334,583, while the Irish Sailing Association received £306,150, the bulk of which will go to those competing in the World Laser Championships to be held in Cork this August.

Part of the funding for some bodies is done on the first year in an Olympic cycle basis. So, rowing, athletics and swimming received substantial grants for international training and competition.

Individual grants will be announced next month.

John Treacy also stated that the Sports Council will undertake a review of its anti doping programme this year. Talks will be held with every NGB over the course of the year, concluding in a full review. An anti doping report will be issued within the next couple of months, which will gauge the success of the programme so far.

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