Mica-affected sports clubs can apply for rebuild grants
Five Donegal or Mayo clubs can apply for grants of up to €550,000 in a new pilot scheme under the Community Sport Facilities Fund
Sports clubs in Donegal whose premises are affected by defective blocks can apply for grants to rebuild under the new round of sports capital funding.
The pilot initiative will allow up to five clubs in Donegal or Mayo to apply for grants of up to €550,000 to rebuild affected clubhouses, with a maximum of 95% of the full cost available.
The €550,000 cap is set at the ‘regional’ level under the Community Sport Facilities Fund, rather than the local grant cap of €250,000 that is available to clubs for other development projects.
This is the first such scheme in the State to be open to properties other than private or social homes. It is provided under the aegis of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, rather than the Department of Housing which has overall responsibility for the main defective concrete blocks scheme.
Scores of club premises, particularly in Inishowen and north Donegal where the problem is most acute, were built with defective blocks.
The pilot initiative will employ assessment criteria similar to those used in relation to the defective concrete blocks grant scheme for private homes.
Minister of State for Sport Charlie McConalogue said full details of the rules and procedures specific to the pilot scheme will be published before the end of the year, providing impacted clubs with sufficient time to lodge an application before the 26 February 2027 deadline for all CSFF grants.
Changes to the testing protocol IS 465 announced this summer paved the way for the inclusion of properties that were not dwellings. Previous versions of IS 465 referred specifically to houses and dwellings, but the new updated version uses the broader term ‘buildings’, opening the door for sports premises to be considered under this round of the CSFF.
Donegal sports clubs were awarded almost €13.6 million under the previous round of the CSFF in 2024.
The Department of Sport’s new grant management system, called SPRAOI, opened for applications on October 19.
Clubs intending to apply for any sports capital grant, and not just for defective concrete blocks, that were registered under the former OSCAR system have been advised to check that their details have been successfully moved over to the SPRAOI platform.