Sport Ireland today announced an investment of nearly €32 million in National Governing Bodies for Sport, direct athlete support and the Local Sports Partnership Network for 2019.

The funding announced, which represents a significant increase on 2018, includes an investment of €12.845 million in the core activity of National Governing Bodies for Sport (NGBs), €8.46m in NGB High Performance Programmes, €820,000 in high performance funding for the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland, and €7.29 million in the work of the Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs).

Sport Ireland also announced €500,000 in targeted funding for projects, to assist with the preparation for key events in 2019, along with a further €1.93 million for the International Carding Scheme.

The International Carding Scheme has increased from €1.9 million in 2018 to €1.934 million in 2019. For 2019 and 2020 the International Carding Scheme will be awarded as a two year

Scheme. This means that athletes who are awarded Carding in 2019 will be funded until December 2020, subject to terms and conditions.