Minister Griffin announces a further Dormant Accounts funding for Sport and Physical Activity Measures
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin TD today announced a further investment package of €1.5 million in Dormant Accounts funding for sport.
Today’s investment follows the announcement of €2.9 million in Dormant Accounts funding for sport in November. This investment is being allocated to National Physical Activity Plan measures for disadvantaged communities and will be administered by Sport Ireland.
Announcing the investment, Minister Griffin said: “I am delighted to announce a further investment of €1.5 million through the Dormant Accounts Fund which will support the delivery of a comprehensive programme of initiatives under the National Physical Activity Plan. My department has worked with Sport Ireland to ensure that all projects are providing opportunities to those who might not otherwise engage in sport and physical activity. We are already seeing the impact of the comprehensive programme of funding announced last month. Through these initiatives being rolled out by the Local Sports Partnership Network and the National Governing Bodies for Sport, more people with disabilities and those from socially, economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds are being given more opportunities and encouraged to participate in regular physical activity and sport.”
Among the initiatives being announced today are four new Community Sport and Physical Activity Hubs (CSPAH), along with support for innovative new projects such as outdoor recreation programmes for disadvantaged communities and research into the needs of young women to take up leadership roles in sport.
Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of Sport Ireland, said: “Today’s announcement is a welcome one for National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships who have been successful in their applications for funding under this initiative. Projects funded under previous rounds of the Dormant Accounts Fund have borne positive results and it is a credit to the funded bodies that these projects are now flourishing and sustainable. The Board of Sport Ireland places a premium on ensuring everyone has an opportunity to partake in sport no matter what, and the Dormant Accounts Fund is assisting us in realising that ambition.”
As with previous funding announced, today’s investment is closely aligned with the National Physical Activity Plan. A particular emphasis on implementing programmes to promote physical activity, research into pertinent areas of sport and the development of programmes to address transitions and drop out from physical activity.
Highlighting the initiatives’ contribution to the National Physical Activity Plan John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, added: “One of the key aims of Sport Ireland is increasing participation across every age group and from all social backgrounds throughout Ireland. The investment through the Dormant Accounts Fund announced today allows Sport Ireland to work in conjunction with the National Governing Bodies for Sport and Local Sports Partnership Network to drive these initiatives which will contribute towards the objectives of the National Physical Activity Plan. What Sport Ireland hopes to achieve through the roll out of these initiatives is simple, we want to see more people more active on a regular basis.”
Breakdown of Additional Dormant Accounts Funding - National Physical Activity Plan 2017 Sports Measures:
Community Sport and Physical Activity Hubs
Dormant Accounts Funding will be allocated to establish and develop four new CSPAHs, in addition to the nine new and thirteen existing hubs which were allocated funding earlier in 2017.
The objective of the CSPAHs is to bring local people together and provide a home for local clubs and sports organisations.
The Hubs provide information, support and advice on a wide range of sports and physical activities to make it easier for people in disadvantaged areas to get involved in and engage in a more active and healthier lifestyle.
Applications to establish and develop CSPAHs were sought from Local Sports Partnerships in a competitive bid process under three theme areas: Community Setting, Schools Based Setting and an Outdoor Setting.
|
Local Sports Partnership CSPAH Location |
Funding |
|
South Dublin Brookfiled, West Tallaght |
€56,000 |
|
Kildare Athy |
€63,000 |
|
Cork Various Locations |
€63,000 |
|
Cavan Kilnaleck |
€53,180 |
Youth Leadership
This programme is designed to develop generic leadership skills that can be applied to a variety of sports and/or recreational situations as well as contributing to the personal development of the learner. It is rolled out by Local Sports Partnerships to teenagers in Transition Year of secondary school or in a community setting.
| Local Sports Partnership | Funding |
| Cavan | €2,500 |
| Cork | €10,000 |
| Donegal | €5,000 |
| Dublin City | €5,000 |
| Laois | €2,500 |
| Leitrim | €10,000 |
| Mayo | €5,000 |
| Meath | €12,500 |
| Offaly | € 20,000 |
| South Dublin | €15,000 |
| Wexford | €2,500 |
Dublin North East Inner City Project
This is the second year of the Dublin North East Inner City RAPID Community Sports Project. The Dublin North East Inner City Community Sports Project 2017 focuses on the provision of a range of training programmes and supporting participation initiatives in conjunction with National Governing Bodies, sports clubs and local organisations that want to work together to improve the sport offered to young people in Dublin North East Inner City RAPID area. This project will be delivered through Dublin City Sport and Wellbeing Partnership, based within Dublin City Council.
| Title | Allocation |
| Dublin North East Inner City Project | €100,000 |
Urban Outdoor Adventure Initiatives
Outdoor recreation programmes have been developed and run in disadvantaged communities, for at- risk youth groups, disadvantaged school groups and people with disability in many countries with success. There is now a growing body of evidence to suggest that outdoor adventure programme where participants interact with nature and experience new outdoor adventure sports are successful in developing confidence and skills among participants and also help young people to manage risk and encourages them to welcome challenge.
Applications were invited from Local Sports Partnerships, in a competitive bid process, for urban outdoor adventure initiatives in their respective counties.
| Local Sports Partnership | Funding |
| Tipperary | €47,000 |
| Carlow | €47,000 |
| Meath | €47,000 |
| Laois | €47,000 |
| Donegal | €47,000 |
| Sligo | €47,000 |
| Kilkenny | €47,000 |
| Wexford | €44,950 |
| Waterford | €35,050 |
| Longford | €33,335 |
| Leitrim | €21,800 |
Special Olympics Ireland Support Programme
The 2018 Special Olympics Ireland Games will take place in Dublin from Thursday 14th – Sunday 17th June 2018, the first time the Ireland Games have returned to Dublin in 16 years. In conjunction with the Games, Special Olympics Ireland will develop and deliver a multi strand support programme. This includes both participation and showcase events along with the development of a comprehensive health and wellbeing programme. A grassroots Volunteer programme will also be developed on the lead up to the event.
| Title | Grantee | Allocation |
| Special Olympics Ireland Support Programme | Special Olympics Ireland | €150,000 |
Empowering Women in Sport
Under this strand research into the needs of young women in sport with a specific focus on the role of female leadership in empowering women to stay active and involved in sport will be carried out by Sport Ireland in 2017. The project has been developed in partnership with the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Sport Ireland will facilitate research into the sector to assess the current landscape of female leaders and influencers in Ireland. From this research, and based on the potential gaps identified, a Leadership and Influencer Programme will be developed. This programme will centre on maximising the potential of females operating within the sector.
| Title | Allocation |
| Empowering Women in Sport | €25,000 |
Research Programme on the Application of Behavioural Science to Sport and Physical Activity in Disadvantaged Communities
National Physical Activity Plan Action 50 aims to ‘Establish a systematic, regular and long-term national surveillance system to monitor physical activity levels in each of the target groups’, to this end Sport Ireland will invite tenders for the delivery of a two phase piece of behavioural science research and implementation.
| Title | Allocation |
| Research Programme on the Application of Behavioural Science to Sport and Physical Activity in Disadvantaged Communities | €150,000 |
Watersport Inclusion Games
Building on the success of the inaugural Games that was held in Dun Laoghaire in June 2017 Irish Sailing will deliver a second Watersport Inclusion Games in 2018. This project proposes to develop a range of supporting participation, coaching and education, programmes throughout 2018 with the final 2 day flagship event being held in Galway City in August.
| Title | Grantee | Allocation |
| Sailing – Watersport Inclusion Games | Sailing Ireland | €50,000 |
Active Places, Better Spaces
Limerick Local Sports Partnership will work in the area of Garryowen, within Limerick City, a large urban housing estate area with a population of over 3,300 people. This programme will focus on building on the investment to date in Limerick through the support of Dormant Accounts Funding including the Community Sports and Physical Activity Hub and Community Coaching programmes, Rowing Ireland and Beat the Street.
This programme, to be known locally as ‘Get Garryowen Active’, aims to develop both indoor and outdoor recreational areas to provide a wide range of physical activity and educational opportunities to children, youths, older adults and families. It will also seek to advance the social and personal development of local residents
| Initiative | Grantee | Allocation Current | Allocation Capital |
| Active Spaces Betters Places | Limerick LSP | €100,000 | €45,000 |
Programmes to address transitions and drop out from physical activity and sport
DCU – YPATH
Y-PATH aims to improve physical activity levels of first year post-primary youths. Findings show that the programme has been successful in targeting youth at the critical transition from primary to second level education, and alleviate the well documented age-related dropout from physical activity and sport.
This phase of the project will see the development an innovative App for the Y-PATH programme to meet teachers’ and students’ needs. The ultimate goal will be to disseminate these resources to all DEIS schools nationally and this body of work will be completed beyond the term of this Dormant Accounts funding ensuring the long term legacy and impact of the programme.
UCC – Project FLAME
Project FLAME examines the fundamental and functional movement competencies in post-primary Irish adolescent youth at Junior Certificate level. To date, Project FLAME findings have observed that levels of fundamental and functional movement skill proficiency among adolescents were low, with significant gender differences. Findings also demonstrated that movement patterns and skills significantly declined as adolescents became older.
Through this Dormant Accounts Fund, UCC will evaluate the potential and effectiveness of this movement programme in the post-primary setting in 2018. All DEIS post-primary schools in Cork will be offered training on the implementation of the Project FLAME resources, following the completion of this pilot trial in May 2018.
| Initiative | Grantee | Allocation |
| Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health (YPATH) programme | DCU | € 50,000 |
| Project FLAME | UCC | € 25,000 |
Dormant Accounts Funding
The Dormant Accounts Act 2001 together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003 and the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Acts 2005-2012 provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (i.e. banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.
Dormant funds/unclaimed life assurance policies, which have not been reclaimed by the original account/policy holder or their beneficiaries, are transferred each year by the financial institution/insurance undertaking to the Dormant Accounts Fund which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
The legislation provides for a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed. In each year monies may be disbursed in accordance with Part 6 of the 2012 Act, from the Account, but only for the purposes of programmes or projects to assist:
1. the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged;
2. the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged or
3. persons with a disability (within the meaning of the Equal Status Act 2000)
The Dormant Accounts Fund is the responsibility of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.