I recently met with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to discuss this report, published in December 2025, by its National Demographics Committee.
The demographic shifts in Ireland have direct impacts, positive and negative, on participation numbers in GAA clubs, both urban and rural. This demographic impact is an issue for other sports and for wider planning and infrastructure considerations.
A positive recent development in terms of factoring sport into long-term spatial and strategic planning is the inclusion, in regulations made under the Planning and Development Act 2024, of Sport Ireland as a statutory consultee when local authorities are reviewing their county development plans.
In this context, I understand that the Office of the Planning Regulator is liaising with Sport Ireland and some other sporting bodies to examine how local authorities can more effectively plan for the provision of sports and recreational facilities within communities.
In terms of the ongoing development of sports infrastructure, my Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund .
CSFF provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. Since 2015, over €600 million has been allocated under the CSFF and, of this, over €241 million (almost 40%) was allocated to the GAA, Ladies Gaelic Football, Camogie and Handball.
In identifying projects under the LSSIF, applicants were asked to consider key factors such as demographic changes, in particular population growth and how they will influence the need for investment in additional facilities within the area and surrounding region. Almost €60 million has been allocated to GAA-backed projects in the two LSSIF funding rounds to date.
