Additional funding of over €400k allocated to Indoor Recreation & Outdoor Sports Park in Roscommon

Over €400k in additional funding has been allocated to the Stream 1 design phase of iRos, an Indoor Recreation & Outdoor Sports Park planned for Roscommon town.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin and Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne today (Wednesday) announced “Top Up” grant allocations to existing projects under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

Senator Aisling Dolan has welcomed the additional "Top Up” grant allocations to existing projects under LSSIF.

Senator Dolan stated:

“The Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund is the main method of Government support for the development of larger sports and physical recreation facilities in the country.

“I am delighted more funding has been allocated to the design of a major indoor centre and outdoor sports park in Roscommon which has been allocated an additional €410,023, in addition to the original allocation of €136,484 that was awarded in January 2020. Congratulations to the team at Roscommon County Council in developing this proposal for the iRos indoor recreation and outdoor Sports Park in Roscommon town.

“The iRos project is for an indoor 4 court sports hall and a sports park with one outdoor floodlit 3G pitch and one grass pitch. A perimeter trail for recreational walking will be a welcome addition for local community as well giving safe spaces for walking. The plan also includes redeployment of existing tennis courts within the site and enhancements to car parking and site access. A multi-sports hall will build on existing sports and leisure facilities in the town.”

“It is so essential that we have top class sporting facilities like this in County Roscommon so that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy and benefit from their use. We also need these important facilities to train and nurture our next generation of sporting stars to perform in elite sports," Senator Aisling Dolan said.

The additional funding for projects is being provided, in response to delays experienced by grantees arising from the pandemic and construction inflation, following engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

Commenting on the announcement Minister Catherine Martin said: “I am delighted to make two announcements today, along with Minister of State Thomas Byrne, in relation to the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund. First, that a new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the first half of 2024, with the dates, terms and conditions to be published on the Department’s website in due course. Second, the additional funding of €37.6 million towards LSSIF funded projects. It is vitally important that we have sporting facilities like these so that people of all ages and abilities can benefit from their use.

"From the Government’s perspective, if we are to achieve our ambitious targets and get as many people participating in sport as possible we need the necessary facilities. Similarly, if we are to develop our elite sportspeople we need to invest at grassroots level. I am pleased that the Government is in a position to provide further assistance in the development of these facilities in light of the challenges they have faced since funding was confirmed just before the pandemic. I know that the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund will deliver a number of exciting facilities in the coming months and years ahead.”

The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 with €86.4 million subsequently awarded to 33 different projects. This additional funding amounts to a total of €37.6 million with 27 individual projects benefitting, bringing the total awarded to date to Large Scale Sport Infrastructure funded projects to €124 million.

The Ministers also confirmed today that a new round of the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund will open for applications in the first half of 2024, with the dates, terms and conditions to be published on the Department’s website, in due course.

For the first time, it will be a requirement for all successful applicants to publish their Similar Access Policies, in respect of men and women having access to the facilities on similar terms, in order to be eligible for a “top-up” allocation drawdown.