The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has funded the Football Association of Ireland during the period 2017 to date through both the Emigrant Support Programme and the Reconciliation Fund.
The UK Welfare Officer programme was established in 2008 and was supported jointly by the Football Association of Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's
The programme provided assistance, support, advice and counselling services to Irish players aged 16+ that moved to the UK to become involved in the UK professional football game.
To ensure ongoing quality control, and in addition to ongoing monitoring and evaluation of projects based on reporting by organisations and visits by Missions, the Department commissions a number of on-site, external audits each year. As set out in the 2015, Global Irish: Ireland's Diaspora Policy, we are working to commit 1% of the ESP budget to quality assurance, including the annual programme of evaluation and audits.
The following table lists the total amount of funding granted through the ESP to the FAI since 2008.
Transaction Date
|
Description
|
Transaction Amount
|
Name
|
16/05/2008
|
ESP grant FAI 2008
|
50,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
25/11/2009
|
ESP grant FAI 2009
|
50,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
09/08/2010
|
ESP grant FAI 2010
|
42,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
05/08/2011
|
ESP grant FAI 2011
|
42,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
17/12/2012
|
ESP grant FAI 2012
|
35,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
26/07/2013
|
ESP grant FAI 2013
|
42,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
11/12/2014
|
ESP grant FAI 2014
|
42,844
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
07/12/2015
|
ESP grant FAI 2015
|
55,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
05/12/2016
|
ESP grant FAI 2016
|
55,000
|
Emigrant Support Programme, IAU
|
|
TOTAL
|
413,844
|
|
In addition, in 2008 the Reconciliation Fund supported the FAI with a grant of €25,000 towards an all-island coaching conference for over 400 voluntary grassroots football coaches, organised in partnership with the Irish Football Association. The conference aimed to provide an opportunity for coaches to network on a cross-border basis, and to engage with Irish and international coaches in talks and practical sessions to assist in the development of young players, both male and female. It aimed to promote meaningful cross-border links by encouraging both associations to work together to deliver a conference which would also provide coaches from across the island with the opportunity to network and establish relationships.
All grantees awarded funding through the Reconciliation Fund are required under the grant's terms of agreement to submit a post-grant narrative and financial report demonstrating how the grant was spent, as well as the organisation's accounts for the relevant year clearly showing the grant as a separate item of income. The grant's terms of agreement provide for auditing spot-checks to be undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on a number of grants made through the Reconciliation Fund in a given year. The Comptroller and Auditor General also carries out a number of spot-checks on Reconciliation Fund grant payments on an annual basis.
Transaction Date
|
Description
|
Transaction Amount
|
Name
|
20/06/2008
|
T1 2008 – FAI
|
25,000
|
Reconciliation Fund, IUKA
|
|
TOTAL
|
25,000
|
|