Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020
122. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will consider allocating increased funding to community sports clubs due to the decrease in revenue in 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29703/20]
View answerIn recognition of the significant impact of Covid-19 on sporting organisations and clubs, a funding package of up to €70 million has been put in place to support the sector. The funding package, which will be administered by Sport Ireland, includes;
- Funding of up to €40m for the three main field sports organisations – the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU.
- a Resilience Fund of up to €10m to support the National Governing Bodies of Sport,
- a Sports Club Resilience Fund of up to €15m to support clubs, and
-a Sports Restart and Renewal Fund of up to €5m.
The funding will be invested through new grant schemes with Sport Ireland’s recognised funding partners, including the National Governing Bodies of Sport, Local Sports Partnerships and other funded sporting organisations.
The closing date for applications to Sport Ireland under the COVID 19 grant schemes was September 14. I understand that a large number of applications was received. 39 National Governing Bodies applied on their own behalf or on behalf of their member clubs. Sport Ireland is currently processing and validating the applications. There is significant interest in each of the 4 strands of funding. The process will be complete by the end of October and an announcement on allocations will be made at that time.
