Donegal Sports Partnership has been allocated €196,000 under the 2022 Dormant Accounts Grants Scheme for various projects over the next twelve months.
The latest allocation of government funding is aimed at engaging communities across Donegal to focus on people living in disadvantaged communities, people with a disability, women and girls, and people who are educationally disadvantaged.
Donegal Sports Partnership Co-ordinator, Myles Sweeney said the funding is excellent news for the county.
“Dormant Accounts Funding makes a real difference to individuals and communities right across the county,” he said.
“These sporting measures will help increase participation in sports and physical activity in local communities. Inclusion is a core value within sports, with sports inclusion disability projects also being prioritised within the funding.”
The latest allocation of funding is part of an investment package of €6.1 million in Tranche 1 Dormant Accounts Funding announced by Sport Ireland.
Speaking about the new round of funding, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said: “This latest round of funding for the promotion and development of sport amongst those experiencing disadvantage or with a disability shows the government’s determination to bring in a targeted and focused way the benefits of sport and physical activity to these marginalised communities.”
The Programme for Government, agreed in 2020, spoke of sport being at the heart of a flourishing community and it made a clear commitment to encourage and promote people’s personal health, well-being, and physical activity.
“This €6.1m. programme of measures will help to address inequalities in sports participation, in particular those experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. There is a wide variety of measures being implemented and I am especially pleased about the initiative to get girls more active in sports, too many of whom are still dropping out of sports in their teenage years. I encourage all concerned to actively engage with this exciting programme.”