asked the Minister for Education the reason the grant to sporting organisations is being reduced by 9 per cent in the Estimates.
Written Answers. - Sports Grants.
648.
The allocation of £1,196,000 for 1984 included a provision of £300,000 made in the 1984 budget out of which £250,000 is a non-recurrent factor in 1984. This figure of £250,000 is made up of £140,000 to the Olympic Council for the 1984 Olympics; £100,000 to the Gaelic Athletic Association in respect of Centenary Year and £10,000 for the Olympics for the Disabled. On this basis the base from which any comparison should be made is £946,000 (i.e. the original Estimates provision of £896,000 plus a special budget provision of £50,000 given to various sporting organisations). The figure of £1,085,000 for 1985 thus represents an increase of £139,000 or 14.6 per cent over the corresponding 1984 provision.