merrion street

Today (20 August 2016), the Minister of State with responsibility for Sport, Mr Patrick O’Donovan, TD, moved to assure our Paralympians that they should not be discouraged by the announcement of cut backs by the Brazilian organisers of the Paralympic Games. Minister O’Donovan encouraged the athletes to remain focussed on their preparations for Rio. While there is some uncertainty regarding a support grant from the Rio organisers (€65,000), the Minister has been in touch with Paralympics Ireland requesting that he would be kept informed of any shortfall in the grant or any other unanticipated expenses arising as a result of the cutbacks. The Minister will monitor developments with a view to ensuring there is no negative impact on Team Ireland’s participation in Rio 2016.