Sport Ireland is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, increasing participation at all levels and raising standards, including the allocation of funding under its various programmes. I understand that the FAI made a submission to Sport Ireland in relation to funding for women’s soccer, specifically for its Women's National League, in late 2022 and that submission is still under consideration by Sport Ireland.
It should be noted that the Government and Sport Ireland are continuing to support the FAI in growing the game amongst women and girls. In accordance with the Government’s Memorandum of Understanding with the FAI, funding of €5.8 million is being allocated to the FAI for soccer development each year between 2020 and 2023.
In addition, specific Women in Sport funding is allocated to the FAI through Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport funding programme to increase women’s participation and to progress the FAI’s strategic objectives for women in sport. Funding of €64,000 was provided under this programme for the two years 2021 and 2022. In December 2022, my Department provided an additional funding allocation to Sport Ireland to support a number of initiatives aimed at improving the profile and visibility of female athletes across all sports in 2023, and this included specific supports for women in soccer.
Addressing the participation of women and girls in sport and physical activity is an important element of national sports policy and is a core priority for Minister Martin and I. Along with Sport Ireland, we will continue to promote and encourage greater participation in sport by women and girls.
The Government has provided a current budget allocation of €89.7 million for Sport Ireland for 2023 that will enable the agency to continue to support the sport sector this year, including support for increased participation by women and girls.
The Women in Sport funding programme is an important support for sporting bodies in putting programmes in place to increase women's participation in their sports and to progress their strategic objectives for women in sport. Sport Ireland allocated €4 million under the programme for the 2021-22 with 45 national governing bodies ( NGBs), receiving funding under this investment. A further €265,000 was invested in the local sports partnerships under the programme.
Sport Ireland is currently assessing applications for Women in Sport funding for 2023, and these allocations will be announced shortly. The funding guidelines for the scheme continue to encourage NGBs to develop Women in Sport programmes and initiatives focused on the key areas outlined in Sport Ireland's policy on women in sport.
Sport Ireland launched its women in sport policy in 2019 and will continue to implement the actions and objectives in the policy over the coming years. The Women in Sport policy is aligned to the national sports policy and its aims in terms of active participation are to significantly reduce the active sport participation gradient between men and women and to reduce the dropout by young girls from physical activity and sport.
Sport Ireland is continuing to promote women's and girls' participation in sport through various campaigns, such as the recent "It's My Time" campaign and "HER Outdoors" week. Last March, I was delighted to launch a new campaign established to support, motivate and encourage more teenage girls to be active. The "HER Moves" campaign continues to run nationwide, with a tour throughout the summer featuring six Pop-Up events with opportunities for girls to try a host of activities alongside vibrant music, arts, fashion, and food placing the social aspect at the centre of each event. The Pop-Up tour will bring Her Moves communities and groups together in an inclusive, accessible and fun way and I would encourage people to look at the website hermoves.ie and see how they can get involved.
With regard to capital support, my Department provides grant assistance for sporting facilities through the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
The SCEP is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP.
The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March 2021 and by the deadline a record 3,106 applications were submitted. The final allocations under the 2020 round were announced on 31 May last year and the total allocation of €166.6 million represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. Details of all allocations can be found on the Department's website. Many successful applications will benefit women's soccer and it is important to note that every valid capital application received a grant offer. Furthermore, under the 2020 round, significant extra weighting was given to projects that will benefit female participation
The LSSIF is designed to provide financial support to sports projects where the grant sought is greater than the maximum available under the SCEP. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and to date approximately €86.4m has been provisionally awarded to 33 different proposals.
A key consideration in the assessment of any application under the SCEP and the LSSIF is the likelihood of increasing participation including female participation and the government is committed to continued investment in our sport infrastructure in the years ahead. Any future application for funding for projects to benefit women's soccer under either the SCEP or LSSIF will be considered on its own merits in line with the relevant assessment criteria. In this regard, my officials and I continue to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in relation to the next cycles of the SCEP and LSSIF. Once these discussions are concluded, I will provide an update in respect of any new round of the schemes.
