Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
315. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the actions being taken by her Department to facilitate female participation in soccer in Ireland, particularly at a young age, given the recent increase in popularity of the female game and the lack of female specific facilitates at many clubs around the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33739/23]
View answerOne of our primary aims under the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 is to increase the levels of participation in sport by women and girls. Soccer is a key sport in contributing to that aim and I am delighted to note the huge growth over recent years in the number of women and girls playing soccer.
The Government and Sport Ireland are continuing to support the FAI in growing the game amongst women and girls.
Last week, Minister Catherine Martin and I announced additional programme funding of up to €500,000 to support women’s and girls’ football. This funding will be provided to the FAI through Sport Ireland and will be invested primarily in the areas of coaching, grassroots and female leadership. Details of the funding will be finalised between Sport Ireland and the FAI in the coming weeks.
This significant investment will help to ensure the further development of women’s football in Ireland and is a fitting legacy of the Irish Women’s National Team’s qualification for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
In accordance with the Government’s Memorandum of Understanding with the FAI, funding of €5.8 million is being allocated to the FAI for football development each year between 2020 and 2023. Of the €5.8 million grant funding allocated to the FAI in 2022 under the Memorandum of Understanding, over €2.9 million was apportioned towards women’s and girls’ football.
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. A total of €64,000 was allocated to the FAI under the Women in Sport funding programme for the two years 2021 and 2022. Funding under this programme for 2023 is expected to be announced shortly.
In relation to capital support, the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (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 and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
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. The full scoring system was published in advance of assessment work commencing and additional marks were given to projects that encourage greater female participation. Minister Martin and I will be announcing full details of a new round of the SCEP shortly but can assure the Deputy that projects with a focus on female participation will again be prioritised.
