Press release
€37 million allocated to Sports Capital Projects
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
Shane Ross TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, today (15 November) announced the final set of allocations for local capital projects under the 2018 round of the Sports Capital Programme (SCP). A total of €37 million has been allocated to 994 different projects with 37 different sports benefitting.
The SCP is the primary means of providing government funding for capital projects to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level. The 2018 round of the Programme saw the highest level of interest ever with 2,337 individual applications received.
Minister Ross paid tribute to the volunteers involved in advancing the projects being allocated funding:
“I would like to congratulate all of the successful applicants receiving grants. Increasing participation in sport is the central aim of our National Sports Policy and to achieve our objectives we need to have appropriate sports facilities. The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities right across the country. The vast majority of grants are going to voluntary organisations and I want to particularly thank all of the volunteers associated with these clubs for their tireless work and their commitment to improving their facilities to benefit all members.”
Minister of State Brendan Griffin TD, highlighted the many improvements introduced in the application process:
“Everybody involved in Irish sport knows the importance of the Sports Capital Programme. We have introduced significant changes to the Programme to make the whole process as user-friendly as possible including the simplification of the application form, giving applicants an opportunity to correct applications during the assessment phase and the introduction of an appeals system for unsuccessful applicants. While it was not possible to fund all applications received, the assessment process was designed to prioritise projects that shared facilities, that came from disadvantaged areas and did not receive substantial funding under the programme previously. In terms of the successful projects, the grants announced today benefit every county but there is also a huge spread of sports with 37 different sports receiving funding.”
Full details of all allocations on a county basis are set out on the department’s website at: Sports Capital Programme Allocations.
ENDS