The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media aims to increase participation and interest in sport, to improve standards of performance and to develop sports facilities at national, regional and local level, thereby contributing to healthier lifestyles and an improved overall quality of life, through a Departmental policy and resource framework in partnership with its Agencies, other Government Departments and the National Governing Bodies of Sport.
The National Sports Policy was published on 25 July 2018 and provided for a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the fund is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects. These would be projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital Programme (SCP).
In some cases, these may be projects where the primary objective will be to increase active participation in sport. In other cases, these may be large scale venues / stadia where the focus is more related to social participation and high performance sport. Initially, the scheme will have a particular focus on National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and Local Authorities. New swimming pool projects will also be considered. All project proposals will be subject to appropriate economic analysis.
The Government has provided a capital allocation of at least €100m over the period 2018 to 2027 for the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund.
While this programme is aimed primarily at the NGBs and Local Authorities it is also open to other bodies, philanthropic funders, clubs and voluntary organisations to apply but such applications would necessarily have to be made and prioritised by a Local Authority and / or an NGB.
For more information on the scheme, visit the website or contact the Department by email or telephone on 064 66 27347 / 064 66 27362.