Sports Funding Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06 ============================================================ Evanne Ní Chuilinn (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach Gabhaimid buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo don díospóireacht seo. It is rare that you will see Senators from both sides of the House take a take a joint Commencement matter, but an rud is annamh is iontach. Senator Harmon and I believe that inclusion in sport is not party political, and we tabled this matter together as a reflection of real inclusion. We have reached a point where women's sport is no longer what could be described as a minority sport. Increased and sustained ring-fenced funding from the Department is to be acknowledged. The amount of €4 million provided in 2025 was double what was made available in 2022, so the trajectory is positive. It is important that we do not lose sight of the intended supports, and I encourage all national governing bodies to produce spend against reports in order that Sport Ireland can ensure that the ring-fenced funding to which I refer is being spent as intended. I recently met representatives of Vision Sports Ireland, VSI. One of the greatest barriers they face in the context of sport and physical activity is the vetting procedure and how long it takes. Unlike other sports where children, for example, need a coach to child ratio of 1:15, a vision-impaired athlete will often require one-to-one coaching. VSI cannot accept walk-ins or casual volunteers, even if they are vetted by another sporting organisation, and this is hampering their delivery of sports. As a result, a streamlined and centralised vetting service may be of benefit. I should point out that Ireland won six medals at the Paris Paralympic Summer Games in 2024. All six were won by vision-impaired Paralympians. It is important that funding follows this success and that sport is presented as a realistic opportunity for children with vision impairment. We are approaching Mayfest, which is VSI's annual come and try event where people who are blind or vision impaired have the opportunity to try sports like football, golf or tennis, so I encourage people to engage with that event. It will be held on 16 May in Dublin. The next round of sport capital funding is approaching fast. I ask the Minister of State to consider whether projects that favour the inclusion of sport for all groups can be prioritised. Many sports clubs have special group sessions for autistic children, for example, but because of the duty of care around children who may be a flight risk, clubs need to have a safe, fenced off space to let the children hone their skills and have some fun. It would be encouraging to see community sports facilities fund applications being given priority, particularly as the aim behind that fund is to cater for those groups. The word "visibility" may be misplaced here, but it is so important that those in print and broadcast media ensure that para-athletes are celebrated and acknowledged as much as our Olympians. There is an argument to be made - it was made by the relevant committee in its report - that the Paralympics. which are held every four years, should not be the only time we see disability sport on television or social media. Young people need to know what is possible. As a result, we need to see our Paralympic stars celebrated. That argument could also be made for many marginalised groups. Seeing is believing. If we do not actively promote sport in our LGBTQ+ community, our Travelling community and other communities, we will lose sight of them. My colleague Senator Harmon will focus on that now. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-06