€5.8 million in COVID-19 Supplementary Funding for Sport
Date: 21-12-2020
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and Minister of State for Sport & the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers TD, today announced the allocation of €5,804,828 in funding for the COVID-19 Supplementary Grant Scheme.
To see full details of the allocations please see here
In November, an unprecedented €85 million funding package was announced for the Irish sport sector, which has been significantly impacted by the various Covid-19 restrictions imposed since March 2020. €5.8 million of that funding was ring-fenced to address any additional and immediate needs that may arise in the sector as a result of the recent Level 5 restrictions.
The national move to Level 5 restrictions in October meant that many sports at both a national and club level faced additional financial challenges that had not been accounted for in their original applications or business plans. Additionally, while the initial schemes focused on verified losses to 2020 income, the Supplementary Fund has been expanded to also support immediate 2021 challenges along with a number of additional initiatives focused on protecting Ireland’s vast network of sports clubs.
Chairman of Sport Ireland, Kieran Mulvey, commented: “Sport Ireland has been in ongoing consultation with the National Governing Bodies and has noted concerns about loses some expect to incur in early 2021. The funding announced today will address many of these concerns and allow these organisations start the New Year in a stronger financial position. I would like to thank Ministers Martin and Chambers, and the staff at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for their continued support in ensuring the sports sector survives a difficult year and can return to providing opportunities for the population to enjoy and participate in sport again”.
Funding has also been made available to develop new programmes, projects and platforms that can advance sport and physical activity in the post Covid-19 public health era. Further funding has been ring fenced to support disability sport, local communities and the reopening of swimming pools.
Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy added, “The funding announced in November has supported many organisations to continue to operate. Today’s announcement further supports the sector including extra support for the disability sport sector. COVID 19 has had a disproportionate impact on people with a disability and a portion of today’s funding is ring fenced for organisations delivering in this sector. Similarly, the small grant scheme operated by Sport Ireland’s Local Sports Partnership Network has proved to be invaluable and we are delighted to be able to further support this. We look forward to working with the sector to get sport back on track in 2021”.