HUNDREDS of local sports clubs, including dozens on the Southside, will share a massive €56m in funding under the 2017 round of the Sports Capital Programme (SCP).
Over 1,700 different sporting projects across the country will benefit from the funding announced by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, and Brendan Griffin, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport last week.
The SCP is the primary means of providing Government to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level.
The 2017 round of the programme closed for applications in February and by that date a record number of 2,320 applications were received.
Among the successful Southside applicants were Dublin 41st Dublin (St Patrick’s Dalkey) Group Dalkey Sea Scouts (for sports equipment), the Dublin 5th Port Dollymount Sea Scout Group (for their sit on top inititative) and Dublin Ballyboden St Endas GAA Club (main pitch Drainage in Sancta Maria.
Other beneficiaries include the Dublin Blackrock Bowling & Tennis Club (for adult facilities) and the Dublin Blackrock College Rugby Football Club (for construction of an all-weather pitch and floodlighting).
Minister Ross said it was a great day for Irish sport.
“When we originally invited applications we had just €30m to allocate,” he said.
“The record level of applications would have left a large number of good projects unsupported and many clubs disappointed.
“Happily, following the conclusion of budget discussions, I was delighted to secure additional resources to enable me to allocate €56m in total to local sports clubs and organisations throughout the country.
“The net result of this is that we are able to provide financial assistance towards over 1,700 different projects all over the country.”
The minister added: “The benefits of participating in sport are well documented, for both physical and mental health.
“These new grants for local clubs will help us in our overall objective of getting as many people participating in sport as possible.
“The grants are also excellent news for our communities, both rural and urban, as club sport is a superb way to bolster local pride, affinity and inclusion.”
Deputy Josepha Madigan welcomed the announcement of the 2017 Sports Capital Programme local allocations to sports clubs in Dublin Rathdown.
"The Sports Capital Programme aims to assist sports clubs in providing sports and physical recreation facilities to the local community,” she said.
“Sports clubs play a vital role in our community. They are essential in ensuring the best physical and mental health for our community.
“The financial support provided by the Sports Capital Programme is essential to ensure that they can best promote participation in sport.
"I look forward to this grant allocation allowing our local sporting groups to continue to thrive.”
A further €4m has been set aside for regional grants (with maximum grants of up to €200,000) and these allocations are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
All valid applications were assessed with a particular focus on whether the application was likely to increase participation in sport.
Other factors taken into consideration included whether the facility was being shared with other clubs, the level of socio-economic disadvantage in the area of the project and the level of funding previously provided to the club or organisation.
The full scoring system and assessment procedures were published on the department’s website.
prior to the assessment work commencing while the overall funding available was distributed by county on a per-capita basis.
The Sports Capital Programme has operated on an annual basis up to and including 2008.
There were also programmes in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
More than 10,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to €911m.
The programme has transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town and city in the country.
The facilities that have been funded range from sports equipment for the smallest clubs to national centres of sporting excellence.
Full details of all allocations on a county basis are set out on the website. www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie