By Louise Hickey
A new
€15 million plan has been launched by the government to promote leisure
cycling, hiking, swimming, and kayaking within rural areas.
The plan has been launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys (FG), under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS).
It is in partnership with Failte Ireland and aims to promote
outdoor tourism in rural Ireland. Outdoor sports, like cycling, have become
increasingly popular during the pandemic.
The scheme aims to play an important role in tourism for these rural areas as the country re-opens. It will prioritise areas where there is already strong evidence of community engagement.
Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin (Greens) welcomes the plan “opening up the outdoors for cycling, hiking, walking and other pursuits for domestic and international visitors will play an important role in tourism recovery”.
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The scheme is funded by the Department for Rural and Community Development and Failte Ireland. It has already provided funding of over €87 million for more than 1,200 projects nationwide. Last year funding for projects started at 20,000.
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This year under the new budget, funding has increased.
Humphreys described the funding to be the “biggest ever financial support
package for rural Ireland”.
The scheme will provide three levels of funding. Investment will range from €30,000 for small projects, like expansion or reparation of existing amenities,€200,000 for medium scale projects and up to €500,000 for large scale projects. City and county councils are urged to apply for funding for use of their bogs, rivers, lakes, and beaches.
Humphreys stated that she is “urging applicants to be bold and ambitious with their proposals – so that we can continue to further develop adventure tourism to the benefit of our citizens”.
There are certain rules for applying. Projects must be based in the countryside. The scheme is not accepting any applications located within the five main city boundaries - Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Galway.
Applications can be made through email to [email protected] by two different deadlines. For small projects, looking for funding of €30,000, the application deadline is the 19th of April 2022 and for medium or large scaled projects costing more, the deadline is May 25th.
Head of product development at Failte Ireland commented they
are happy to work with the department and that “universal accessibility is a
key goal along with the protection, appreciation and enjoyment of biodiversity
and our stunning natural landscape”.
Guidelines for applying can be found by following this link.
