This investment includes €11 million for National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs), €5 million for Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) and €8.7 million for High Performance Sport and provides an overview of the Council's investment strategy for 2014.

€10.6 million will be allocated to support the core activities of 59 Governing Bodies of Sport. In addition, €583,000 will be dedicated to Women in Sport activities across the NGB sector. This investment will look to continue the support of participation programmes which has seen considerable increases in membership including Athletics Ireland (49,000 members) and Cycling (20,000 member).

The National Network of Local Sports Partnerships will receive €5.01 million to support their work in promoting participating in sport and physical activity. In 2013, over 200,000 people took part in local participation programmes while mass participation events such the An Post Cycle Series and Operation Transformation National Walks and Fun Runs attracted over 35,000 participants.

€8.7 m will be invested directly into high performance sports bodies. This investment will continue to build on the success of high performance sport in Ireland which saw a record 67 medals achieved last year at European and World events across a multitude of sports. In 2014, the Council will continue to implement the recommendations of the London Debrief and International Carding Scheme. For the first time Golf will be supported as a single entity by the Council. The establishment of the Confederation of Golf in Ireland is a major development which brings the three golfing organisations together in a joint structure to develop golf in Ireland to its full potential.

2014 promises to be another incredible year of sporting events. One of the highlights of the year will be the Special Olympic Ireland Games taking place in Limerick in June. To support the success of the games, the Council has made an additional provision of €200,000 available to Special Olympics Ireland.

Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council said that "I want to acknowledge the sports bodies and partnerships that provide opportunities to support our mission to increase participation in sport and enhance high performance. I also want to acknowledge the Council's commitment to the Governance Code for Community and Voluntary organisations. This code for good governance will further strengthen our sector, providing a guide on policies and procedures that will empower all Council funded bodies and assist them in achieving excellence in all areas of their work".

In addition to High Performance, Governing Bodies and Participation, the Council will continue to lead the development in areas such as Anti-Doping Coaching, the Institute of Sport, National Trails and Research.

John Treacy, CEO of the Council said: "In addition to today's investment announcement, the Council is also committed to building capability across the sports sector organisations. The strategic provision of Organisational Capability Building services in the areas of Project Management, Governance, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Change Management, Employee Performance Management and Organisational Leadership will be a priority in developing the sporting sector".

Irish Sports Council Supporting NGBs in 2014

• Confederation of Irish Golf commences work
• Special Olympics Ireland host summer games in Limerick
• Rolling out Organisation Capability Building Programme
• Supporting NGBs grow membership and drive participation in sport
• Funding 26 NGBs for Women in Sport Programmes
• 59 NGBs will receive funding for core activities
• 18 sports will receive support to deliver High Performance Plans
• 2 more (Gymnastics and Clay Pigeon Shooting) will receive support for high performance projects
• Coaching Ireland delivering services directly to NGBs
• Institute of Sport working in partnership with NGBs to deliver services directly to athletes and coaches
• Local Sports Partnerships work with NGBs at community level to deliver programmes to target groups
• Supporting Sport HQ at the National Sports Campus @ Abbotstown 

Irish Sports Council Supporting LSPs in 2014

• Investing in 30 Local Sports Partnerships to support the Participation strategy
• Delivering the An Post Cycle Series across five counties to over 16,000 participants
• Investing in the Sports Inclusion Disability Programme including support to 16 Sports Inclusion Disability Officers throughout the network.
• Working with Operation Transformation to deliver National Walks and 5k Fun Runs to over 35,000 people
• Investing in the Women in Sports programme to deliver activities across in local communities
• Supporting innovation in sport through initiatives such as Park Run