Cycling Ireland is delighted to announce a significant increase in Dormant Accounts funding from Sport Ireland and would like to thank Sport Ireland, the Government of Ireland and the Minister for Rural and Community Development for making these funds available. Last week, Sport Ireland announced last week a €6.4 million spending package in Dormant Accounts.

Cycling Ireland will receive a total €230,000 through Dormant Accounts. Of this €150,000 is under the Get Ireland Projects, this will go towards Get Ireland Cycling. This initiative is directly aimed towards increasing participation in cycling among children and is expected to reach 3,600 children.

The initiative will include two programmes – Balance Bike and Cycling Skills. Both programmes will be delivered by Activation Officers in partnership with 35 DEIS Primary Schools supporters.

In addition to this focus on making cycling more accessible to school aged children, there will also be five newly established Cycling Hubs in collaboration with Local Sports Partnerships and Local Councils. These hubs will enable a new focus on brining adults into the sport.

A further €30,000 is available for Volunteer Supports, €10,000 for Her Moves and €40,000 for Local Disability Sports Fund.

The Volunteer Supports funding will also target cycling at a grassroots level. The funding will go towards the Cycle Champions – Youth Leadership programme. Youth Leaders will be targeted throughout the delivery of the programme which will be delivered by Cycling Ireland Coaches in partnership with 25 post primary DEIS Schools supporters and local primary schools.

Working in collaboration with schools, Cycling Ireland intends to co-ordinate and deliver opportunities, to people in socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged areas via this programme and funding.

The funding available through Her Moves will enable Cycling Ireland to work in collaboration with schools to deliver opportunities for Her Moves – Cycle. This will incorporate Cycle Right Stage 2 – the national standard for cycle safety. The programme is predicted to reach 400 teenage girls.

A Her Moves – Cycle Forum will also be established to meet regularly throughout the school year, providing a space for the girls partaking in the programme to voice their choice and control over their cycling journey. This programme will offer a clear progression for teenage girls to get more involved in cycling and to grow the youth membership of Cycling Ireland.

The €40,000 from the Local Disability Sports Fund will be invested into the provision of disability specific training, education or resources to local clubs and volunteers to deliver a handcycle coaching course in each province.

The funding will support the initiation or expansion of disability specific participation programmes or projects. It will also allow for the provision of small-scale sports equipment to individual clubs to support disability specific programmes.

Speaking about the new round of Dormant Account Funding, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD said:

“This latest round of funding shows the Government's continuing commitment to bringing the benefits of sport and physical activity to those experiencing disadvantage or with disabilities. These will help increase participation in sport and physical activity in local communities.”

Speaking about the funding allocation, Paul Norton, Interim Participation Manager with Cycling Ireland, said:

“The Dormant Accounts funding that is received each year from Sport Ireland is key to allowing Cycling Ireland deliver programmes, equipment, and courses to 1,000's of young people aged between 5 and 17. Without this funding, these children and teenagers may not have the opportunities to acquire the skills or experience cycling.
Cycling Ireland is looking forward to creating more positive experiences through cycling for even more young people in 2024, all thanks to Dormant Account funding and the team in Cycling Ireland who work hard each year to deliver these programmes.”