A funding package of up €70 million has been approved by Government to support the sport sector emerging from the coronavirus shutdown.
This funding package will support the sport sector through:
- funding of up to €40 million for the three main field sports organisations – the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU;
- a Resilience Fund of up to €10 million to support the national governing bodies of sport, such as Irish Sailing;
- a Sports Club Resilience Fund of up to €15 million to support clubs; and
- a Sports Restart and Renewal Fund of up to €5m.
Launching the fund last night (Friday 19 June), Sport Minister Shane Ross said: “The sport sector has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and many sporting bodies and clubs are experiencing significant financial challenges.
“We have had extensive contact with the sector and it is clear that the challenge is enormous and is being felt at every level.
“While the scale of this package may seem extraordinarily large, it merely reflects the enormity of the challenges being faced by our sporting bodies.”
Minister Ross said the new funding package “will assist our national governing bodies of sport and sports clubs as they prepare to restart their sports under the Government roadmap.
“Sporting organisations and clubs are hugely important for the social fabric of every community in the country and we want to ensure that the sector recovers as strongly as possible from the current crisis.
“The roadmap accelerations and funding being announced today will ensure the survival of our vibrant sport sector, particularly the network of clubs throughout the country. My officials will now engage with Sport Ireland to design new grant schemes, which will be administered by Sport Ireland.”
Minister of State with responsibility for tourism and sport, Brendan Griffin, added: “Today is the most important day for sport in this country during my time in this office. I am delighted that the Government saw fit to respond to the many loud calls for help from our sporting bodies.
“The scale of lost revenues, from the smallest of club fundraisers to a sold-out stadium, is breath taking. Today’s package will go a long way to aiding the badly needed recovery.”
Funding allocations to national governing bodies and clubs under the new scheme will be determined following a robust grant application and assessment process conducted by Sport Ireland.
Sport Ireland will announce an open invitation to applications from funded bodies for assistance under the grant scheme.
