The Federation of Irish Sport, the voice of Irish sport, has called for a decisive Budget 2026 commitment from Government to secure the role of sport in Ireland as a driver of health, community, and economic growth.
In its 2026 pre-budget submission, the Federation of set out the case for sustainable investment to safeguard and grow the sector.
The primary ask of Government is for a 10 per cent Compound Increase in Core Funding from 2025-2028. The National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) are the engines of citizens’ engagement with and continued participation in sport.
A multi-annual increase in Core Funding will provide stability and financial clarity for NGBs and LSPs to plan for long term development. This will have a direct impact on improving public health and well-being and foster social inclusion, while also driving economic growth and increased tax revenues.
The second key Ask for Sport in Budget 2026 is for a government commitment to research and publish a report on an additional one per cent betting levy for sport. The creation of an additional one per cent levy would yield approximately €40-50million extra per annum for sports.
The Federation is calling on Government to undertake a formal assessment of the proposed additional one per cent levy, with a view to designating the additional revenue specifically for participation and community sport.
Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, said: “The Government has the power to make a meaningful impact on the sports sector in Ireland by recognising Sport’s social, health, and economic value and to prioritise core funding for long term impact. Return on investment is clear: for every €100 invested in sport the return is €209.
“While investment by Government in Sport and Physical Activity has increased significantly over the lifetime of the National Sports Policy, it is time for sport funding in Ireland to be in line with our European counterparts and match the EU average.
“With the current National Sports Policy in its final two years, we want Government to recognise Sport as a public good within national policy going forwards. Backing sport means backing communities all over the country.”
The Federation of Irish Sport – the voice of Irish sport – represents 110 member organisations, comprising over 13,000 clubs. There are an estimated 2.09m active participants in sport and physical activity and the value of Sport to the Irish economy is €3.7bn (GVA).
