Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2021
302. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the funding issued to an association (details supplied) under the Covid sport resilience fund in 2020 and 2021; the conditions attached to this funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29592/21]
View answerA Covid-19 funding package of €85 million was provided in 2020 to support the sport sector. This significant investment benefited all levels of the sport sector, including thousands of grassroots clubs across the country, and provided some certainty for sporting organisations in their planning for 2021.
In total, €725,000 was allocated to the association mentioned by the Deputy, comprising €225,000 under the NGB Resilience Fund and €500,000 under the Sports Club Resilience Fund.
A full breakdown of the funding provided to individual sporting organisations in November and December 2020 is available on Sport Ireland's website at the following links:
www.sportireland.ie/sites/default/files/media/document/2020-11/sport-ireland-covid-19-funding-annoucement-breakdown.pdf
www.sportireland.ie/news/eu58-million-in-covid-19-supplementary-funding-for-sport
The funding criteria for each of the grant schemes was established by Sport Ireland and the funding guidelines were issued by Sport Ireland directly to National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships. As the conditions attached to the funding are a matter for Sport Ireland, I am arranging for Sport Ireland to provide the Deputy with a detailed reply on the criteria used in the allocation of the Covid-19 grant funding to the association. I would ask the Deputy to inform my office if a reply is not received within 10 working days.
No decisions have yet been made in relation to Covid-19 funding support for the sport sector for this year. Sport Ireland is in ongoing communication with the National Governing Bodies of Sport and is assessing the financial needs of the sector. In addition, I am engaging with NGBs both bilaterally and through the Covid-19 Sports Monitoring Group with regard to the supports required in the period ahead.
