Funding sport

Munster's magnificent Heineken Cup win on Saturday was a huge boost to sport in this country and a credit to all involved.

The win came just a couple of days after a significant - and shocking - report was published about how the Government go about funding sport in this country.

It would seem there has been a significant Government increase in spending in sport in recent years and €331 million a year is a serious contribution.

But it is where that money goes that really raises concerns and the ESRI report 'Sporting Lives' very much lifts the lid on the misguided way it is spent.

For example, you would have thought given the increasing obesity levels in this country that the bulk would go to active sports which would attract children - soccer, hurling, rugby, basketball, swimming, Gaelic football, athletics, hockey and so on - but this is not the case.

Out of the €331 million this year, €93 million has been allocated to Lansdowne Road and that is fine given it is a once-off project and that Croke Park was similarly funded.

That still leaves €218 million for sport in general. However, the report reveals that €76,268,000 (35%) will go to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund.

I know these sports are popular but why should the Government be spending 35% of its sports budget on horses and greyhounds? Would it not be better to spend it on people in sport?

It is put in context when you see the amount allocated for 'Grants to Support Sport in Disadvantaged Areas'. Out of a budget of €331 million, a measly €1.5 million has been allocated for the country. And we are supposed to believe that the promotion of sport is being treated seriously in this country?

Space-age hurl

There might not have been too much of note in O'Moore Park on Sunday as Offaly dished out a 16-points defeat to Laois, but the game did mark one significant event.

Offaly wing-back Diarmuid Horan - whose father Padraig skippered them to their first All-Ireland in 1981 and heralded a glorious new era for hurling - made his championship debut.