Limerick TD and local Minister Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the announcement that the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) will reopen to new applications from Monday 17th July.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Scheme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 and was reintroduced by Minister O’Donovan when he was Minister for Sport. These grants can be a major boost, particularly in small rural communities.
The SCEP is the Government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country. Applications can be made online only from 9am on 17 July until 5pm on 8th September 2023.
Patrick has worked with most of the clubs across the County during the application phase of the process since he reopened the scheme and he will again this time round. These clubs and organisations across the County are run by volunteers who put the interests of their clubs and communities first.
The Minister for Sport has again confirmed that the programme will prioritise applications from disadvantaged areas, applications which will increase participation including female participation and disabled users and those which share facilities with other users and the wider community. They have also confirmed increased thresholds for both local and regional projects; the Local project maximum grant has increased from €150,000 to €200,000 and Regional project maximum grant has increased from €300,000 to €500,000.
He would advise any sporting club or organisation that is interested in applying to the SCEP to register if they have not already done so on the Department’s online system at https://www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie. All applications must be made on the same website. The system will be open for applications from 17th July to 8th September 2023 . The “Guide to Making an Application” has also been published today and can be found at https://www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie.
If any club or sporting organisation have any queries about making an application they can contact Patrick at patrick.odonovan@oireachtas.ie or on 069 77998.