It’s two years since the Government last divvied up in terms of the Sports Capital Programme, where grants are made to sports clubs and local communities (local grants) as well as offering financial assistance to national governing bodies (non-local grants).
The Sports Capital Programme is the Government’s main vehicle for supporting the development of sports facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment. The facilities being funded today range from small-scale equipment grants, to regionally significant centres of sporting excellence.
In 2012 the total funding was €31 million but yesterday the funding dispensed through the offices of the Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring had increased by 30 per cent to €40.5 million.
A total of 2,036 applications – 880 were successful – were made under the 2014 Programme, the second highest number ever received under a Sports Capital Programme.
A total of 821 of the successful allocations are towards local sports clubs and organisations, with the remaining 59 allocated to regional or national projects.
There is a maximum payout of €200,000 for local grants and there were a dozen contained in the 821 successful applications. Four were rugby clubs, Clondalkin RFC, Terenure College RFC, Old Belvedere RFC and Old Wesley RFC and three soccer in St Ita’s AFC, St Kevin’s Boys FC and Cherry Orchard FC.
Maximum funding
One GAA club, Kilmacud Crokes, received the maximum funding allowance while two schools, Dominican College and Rathdown, were handed a similar stipend, as was
Fingal County Council
and the Portmarnock Scout & Guide Den Trust Company.
Ballymore Eustace GAA Club in Kildare received the most modest, in financial terms, funding at €421. Dublin clubs and communities benefited to the tune of €8,019,906 or 23.5 per cent of the total funds allocated while Mayo, the county of Minister Ring and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, received a little over €1.1 million or 2.94 per cent.
There were three interesting inclusions in the non-local grants (€6,356,852), Tullow and South Leinster Sports Club in Carlow (€100,000), Mayo's Castlebar Tennis club (€175,000) and Ursuline College in Silgo.
Non-local grants
The reason they fell into the non-local grants rather than local category is because all were identified as centres of regional significance. A spokesperson for the department confirmed: “The National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) of the relevant sports (Tennis
Ireland
and the Irish Hockey Association) designated these projects as having regional status and letters of endorsement were supplied by the NGB’s to confirm this at application stage.”
The Government has now allocated over €85 million under the Sports Capital Programme since it came into office.
Minister Ring said: “Sports clubs and organisations are the lifeblood of communities across Ireland. I’m delighted to be able to show how much the Government values their role and contribution.
“Thanks to their largely voluntary work, these clubs and organisations are delivering on the Government’s target to get more people to be more active, more often.”
