Swim Ireland received the biggest increase, joining rowing as Ireland’s best-funded high-performance sport. Both will receive €1.1m each year to support top performers ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics, an increase of €350,000 for swimming and €7,000 for rowing. Athletics Ireland received a significant boost after a breakthrough year on the track, its allocation rising from €841,666 to €1.05m. The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) will also receive €1.05m, an increase of €40,000, while Paralympics Ireland and the Irish Sailing Association will both receive €1m. Paul McDermott, Sport Ireland’s director of high performance and national governing bodies, said it was “very comfortable” that the promises made by politicians in the wake of last year’s Paris Olympics about increased investment have been backed up. “We’re on a progressive, increasing trend,” he said. “Is there headroom? Yes, but we had extra money last year for Paris and there’s extra money now. There’s a lot of work making sure all that is well spent.” All 16 sports in the High Performance Programme will receive increased funding, with €27m invested in total, an increase of €2m on last year. Funding will now be allocated for a four-year cycle, though Rowing Ireland, the IABA and Paralympics Ireland will be funded solely for this year. For rowing and boxing, the reason is they currently don’t have performance directors in place for the LA cycle, with McDermott stating they were “not punishment reasons, just practicalities”, adding he was “confident” both would be restored to multi-annual funding next year. Paralympics Ireland’s athletics and swimming programmes will soon assimilate into the high-performance arms of the national governing bodies, with McDermott stating there will be “quite a bit of transition” before they’re granted multi-annual funding. Judo, pentathlon and taekwondo are among the sports to be reclassified into a newly-established Performance Development Programme, with all receiving reductions in funding. “We’re not cliff-edging people,” said McDermott. “They have the potential to produce a medal in the future so we’re not walking away from them, but we’re not creating a pressurised situation where funding is dependent on those performances.” Investment in high-performance coaching will increase from €1.2m in 2024 to €1.5m. Under the International Carding Scheme, 29 athletes will receive the highest ‘podium’ level, €40,000 per year, among them Olympic champions Rhys McClenaghan, Daniel Wiffen and Paul O’Donovan. A curious inclusion in that bracket is Kellie Harrington, who announced her retirement last year, but McDermott stated the Olympic champion has yet to complete the procedures required to make it official. “People retired in the past and came back,” he said. “It’s a paper exercise and [her inclusion is] respectful of Kellie until it’s formally done.” Phil Healy is a notable omission despite helping the Irish women’s 4x400m team to fourth place in the Olympic final, with teammates Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker receiving €40,000 apiece. Healy can still receive a share of two €60,000 relay pools.