New Sports Action Plan published

New Plan designed to progress the National Sports Policy

The Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD, has published the Sports Action Plan 2024-2027.

The new Plan has been published with the aim of ensuring the continued development and success of Irish sport. 47 specific initiatives are set out under the Plan with the intention of further advancing the National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, and concludes in 2027.

The National Sports Policy committed the Government to doubling funding in sport to more than €220 million by 2027, compared to 2018 levels, but this target has been reached two years ahead of schedule, with Budget 2025 having allocated over €230 million for sport.

The new Sports Action Plan continues the strong focus of the Government on boosting participation levels in sport and physical activity and it also includes a number of new specific actions that focus on other important priorities.

The ongoing necessity to address enduring challenges for youth and disability participation in sport is a prominent feature of the new Plan. In addition, there is a stronger focus on sectoral and environmental sustainability.

Some highlights of the new Sports Action Plan include:

•Supporting the roll-out of Local Sports Plans in each Local Authority.

•Developing the Volunteering in Sport sector.

•Appointment of a Disability in Sport Lead by Sport Ireland.

•Reviewing disability sport funding and approach.

•Researching scope to introduce design improvements in sports facilities to meet the specific needs of women and girls in sport.

•Improving the linkage between sporting bodies and schools and maximising community access to sports facilities in schools.

•Support development of camogie and hurling in accordance with its special cultural designation by UNESCO.

The plan was developed by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media with the assistance of Sport Ireland and a Sports Leadership Group, which is convened by the Department and chaired by Minister Byrne.

Launching the plan, Minister Thomas Byrne said: “The publication of the new Sports Action Plan underlines the commitment and determination of the government to increase our participation levels in sport and physical activity. In order to meet our ambitious participation targets, we need to promote a ‘Sport for All’ approach and the publication of this new plan is one way in which we are working to tackle the participation gap where it exists, such as among people with a disability.

The new Sports Action Plan advances the significant progress made to date under the National Sports Policy when it comes to increasing our participation levels, developing high performance sport in Ireland and in improving the governance and capacity of the sport sector. Budget 2025 also represented a landmark moment for Irish sport when funding for sport was more than doubled compared to 2018 levels, which meant that a key priority under the National Sports Policy was met, two years ahead of schedule.”

Minister Byrne added: “In my dual role as Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, I recognise how important it is to get people involved in sport from a young age and fundamentally, to find ways to encourage them to stay involved throughout their life.

The new Sports Action Plan includes a strong focus on developing the link between sport and education, involving a series of actions to support such initiatives, as the Active School Flag programme, as well endeavouring to maximise community access to sports facilities in schools.”