Allocation of more than €15m announced for Galway sports facilities
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Galway sports clubs and facilities to receive €15.1m in grants from the Community Sport Facilities Fund.
The initiative, previously called the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme, follows a previous announcement in May for equipment only grants. Overall, Galway has received over €16.7m.
The grants will fund a range of facilities across Galway, with various amounts to be allocated to each. In the largest allocations, two separate facilities are to receive €500,000: Castle Park, for a synthetic pitch, and Leisureland, for “improvement works”.
Speaking at the announcement today (September 25), Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, said that these grants will make clubs “better able to serve their communities”.
“For example, 194 clubs are getting funding to install solar panels, 317 clubs are getting funding for LED floodlights and 966 projects will include improvements to pitches.”
Nationally, it is the “largest-ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland”. €256m is to be delivered through 1,996 grants across the country.
Among the types of grants allocated are Equipment Applications, Local Projects, which are for clubs and groups seeking up to €200,000, and Regional Projects, which are for “centres of excellence” applying for up to €500,000. Galway has received €1.9m, €10.7m, and €4m for Equipment Applications, Local Projects, and Regional Projects, respectively.
Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education, and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne, said that the “inspiring performance” of Team Ireland at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris demonstrated the “positive power of sport”.
“We understand the that any sporting journey begins within the community. The record funding announced today under the Community Sport Facilities Fund underlines this Government’s continued commitment to seeing Irish sport thrive in the future.”
Among the projects to receive funding in Galway are refurbishments for Doughiska Skatepark, floodlighting for Pearse Stadium, and a rugby pitch for Kingston.
For the full list of Community Sports Facilities Funding allocations click here.
Further funding has been allocated, read more here.
