The funding of €5 million, which will be provided through the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, will be targeted towards the ongoing development of Community Sport and Physical Activity Hubs, the development of a National Sport Education and Training Hub, and further sports measures for disadvantaged communities to support the National Physical Activity Plan.

Speaking at today’s announcement (see today’s announcement here) in Dublin, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy, welcomed the allocation which will support Sport Ireland’s strategic aim of getting more people active, regardless of age, location or circumstance. He said: “Sport Ireland’s is delighted that Minister Kyne and his department have allocated substantial funding towards the important sport and physical activity interventions in the community. Sport Ireland places a premium on ensuring everyone has an opportunity to partake in sport no matter what their circumstance, and the Dormant Accounts Fund is assisting us in realising that ambition.”

Sport Ireland has previously administered funding through the Dormant Accounts Fund, which has had a transformational impact at both a local and national level. Mr Treacy continued: “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, and the initiatives facilitated at a local level are adding significant value to the quality of life at a local level. It is important that we continue to develop new projects which will continue to offer more and more opportunities for people to engage in physical activity. We will also be putting a strong emphasis on communicating the great work being done across the country and the important role of physical activity in daily life. I would like to thank Minister Kyne and his colleagues at the Department of Rural and Community Development for their continued support.”

Among the successful Dormant Accounts Fund projects delivered to date by Sport Ireland Funded Bodies are the Community Sport and Physical Activity Hubs. The objective of the Community Sort and Physical Activity Hubs 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.

Sport Ireland Director of Participation and Ethics, Dr. Una May, highlighted the impact of the hubs: “The Community Sport and Physical Activity Hubs, along with other initiatives such as the Urban Outdoor Adventure programme and the Youth Leadership programme, have increased the opportunities for participation at a local level. These initiatives are driven by local community leaders and groups meaning that all programmes are highly targeted and contribute to building the capacity of communities. The results have been impressive and this new raft of funding will allow us to keep developing opportunities, offering a significant return on investments.”

Sport Ireland will announce the distribution of the Dormant Accounts Fund for Sport and Physical Activity Measures in due course.

About the Dormant Accounts Fund:

The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, 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.

The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.

However, in order to utilise the unused funds in dormant accounts and unclaimed policies to best use, the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:

• the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged;
• the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged or persons living with disability.

A full list of measures to be funded under the 2018 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan is set out in the attached. In total, 45 different measures, to the value of €39.7 million, will be supported under this year’s Action Plan.