Record sports grants are largest allocation since fund’s inception [Video]

A bonanza €52m in extra funding for sports grants was found at the eleventh hour as the Government vies to send out “really good news” ahead of the general election, writes Craig Hughes.

Yesterday, the Coalition hailed what it described as a “record” and “unprecedented” €173m for sporting bodies nationally – the largest allocation to the fund since its inception in 2020.

But the Opposition once again accused the Government of trying to “buy the election” after Sinn Féin public expenditure spokeswoman Rose Conway-Walsh claimed it was trying “to buy the Irish citizens with their own money” in a desperate bid to “cling on to power” with its Budget 2025 giveaways.

Taoiseach Simon Harris will call an election this week after the Finance Bill passes, meaning that €1.4bn in tax cuts can be passed on to voters, while some of the almost €2bn in once-off cost-of-livingpayments will start to hit people’s accounts this …