The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, yesterday allocated £14 million in lottery funding to develop sports facilities in disadvantaged areas.
Almost 400 community groups will benefit from the funding made available under the new Sports Capital Programme which aims to increase participation in sport and recreation in disadvantaged areas. Grants made under the new scheme will go towards the construction and refurbishment of community centres, sports halls and other recreational facilities.
This new funding follows a grant of over £2 million to six national and regional projects last week and brings the total allocation of lottery funding under the scheme to £16 million this year.
Announcing the new funding, Dr McDaid said the amount of money allocated this year more than doubled last year's total and would probably represent a threefold increase by the end of the year.
Dr McDaid said he considered the development of quality infrastructure crucial to the future of sport and recreation in Ireland.
"These allocations will ensure that we continue to make steady progress towards reaching that goal," he said.
Dr McDaid said he would be discussing the funding applications made by a number of county GAA grounds in the near future before this year's round of allocations under the programme was finalised.