Nearly 60 national governing bodies of sport in Ireland are to receive a share of EUR25.6m (£21.6m) from the Irish Sports Council (ISC) in 2011.

High performance athletes and sports will benefit from EUR7.8m (£6.6m) of funding in the run up to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Included in the high performance funding will be EUR1.95m (£1.64m) for the International Carding Scheme that directs grants to 115 elite athletes.

National governing bodies of sport will net EUR12.1m (£10.2m), while EUR5.7m (£4.8m) is allocated towards local sport partnerships. ISC chair Kieran Mulvey said: "Investing more than EUR25m in the range of sports this year is a vote of confidence in the Irish sports sector.

"The council believes that sport plays a central role in the social and cultural life of Ireland and will play a significant part in the economic recovery." Irish sports minister Mary Hanafin added: "The economic, social and health value of sport is well established and is something that must continue to be recognised, even in difficult economic circumstances."