Ireland is to get its first new National Sports Policy in more than 20 years.

The strategy will look to provide the framework for sport for the next decade and set the agenda for the newly established Sport Ireland across participation, volunteering and high performance sport.

It will also outline the future development of the National Sports Campus and create a new facility strategy for regional and local facilities.

A consultation process has now been launched, to which stakeholders in the public and private sector and the general public will be invited to respond.

Paschal Donohoe, minister of sport, said: “For the new strategy, we want to hear the views of those who are at the heart of sport in Ireland and finding out where they think the challenges and, indeed, the opportunities in sport lie in the years ahead.

“My priority is to promote maximum participation in sport, including among smaller sports and disadvantaged groups and women. We are making progress in these areas but we can, and we will, do more.

“This year, Budget 2016, saw an increase of 40 per cent in our overall sports programme allocation, to €126m. This will allow our elite athletes to be better supported, a new National Physical Activity Plan to be implemented, sports programmes to be targeted where they are most needed and our Sports Capital and Local Authority Swimming Pools programmes to allocate resources that will better serve our communities.”