Golf will benefit from €2.4 million after Shane Ross T.D., Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and Brendan Griffin T.D. Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, announced the final set of allocations for local capital projects under the 2018 round of the Sports Capital Programme (SCP).
A total of €37m has been allocated to 994 different projects with 37 different sports benefitting, including a whole host of golf clubs around the country.
Given the announced closure this week of Dunmurry Springs Golf Club in Co Kildare, the funding is a timely boost to the golf industry as we enter a largely barren spell for the fairways ahead of Captains’ Drives around the country signalling the new golf season next spring.
There are a number of standout recipients with the €127,049 received by Skerries Golf Club towards work on their course drainage and short-game skills development area the largest single sum in the list of supported golf clubs.
Padraig Harrington’s home club at Stackstown was awarded just over €121,000 with upgrades planned to include universal access facilities and the purchase of equipment for the property.
Beech Park Golf Club receiving a sizable sum of €115,000 for practice and pathway upgrades as well as machine replacement. Kilkee Golf Club are benefitting from over €70,000 for a clubhouse & golf course upgrade and a disabled toilet while the €83,586 granted to Rush Golf Club will see major improvements in the club’s practice facilities, netting, tee-boxes and maintenance equipment.
The SCP is the primary means of providing Government funding for capital projects to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level. The 2018 round of the Programme saw the highest level of interest ever with 2,337 individual applications received.
Minister Ross paid tribute to the volunteers involved in advancing the projects being allocated funding:
“I would like to congratulate all of the successful applicants receiving grants,” Minister Ross stated.
“Increasing participation in sport is the central aim of our National Sports Policy and to achieve our objectives we need to have appropriate sports facilities. The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities right across the country. The vast majority of grants are going to voluntary organisations and I want to particularly thank all of the volunteers associated with these clubs for their tireless work and their commitment to improving their facilities to benefit all members.”
Minister of State Brendan Griffin T.D., highlighted the many improvements introduced in the application process:
“Everybody involved in Irish sport knows the importance of the Sports Capital Programme. We have introduced significant changes to the Programme to make the whole process as user-friendly as possible including the simplification of the application form, giving applicants an opportunity to correct applications during the assessment phase and the introduction of an appeals system for unsuccessful applicants.
“While it was not possible to fund all applications received, the assessment process was designed to prioritise projects that shared facilities, that came from disadvantaged areas and did not receive substantial funding under the programme previously. In terms of the successful projects, the grants announced today benefit every county but there is also a huge spread of sports with 37 different sports receiving funding.”
Full details of all allocations on a county basis are set out on the Department’s website at:- https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/471ed5-sports-capital-allocations/
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