FERMANAGH’S All Ireland winning ladies are set to be the first recipients of a new council cash for sports scheme.
The new award for successful Fermanagh sports teams and competitors was backed by councillors at last week’s Regeneration and Community Committee.
The proposal will offer sums of up to £500 for individuals and £1,000 for teams, with the new All Ireland junior champions the first to benefit along with Tyrone’s women’s GAA side, which lost the All Ireland intermediate final last month.
While the council already runs a formal grants system for groups and events, the new scheme will afford councillors flexibility to respond to requests for help from local athletes.
However a number of conditions will be attached to the award. To qualify, the sporting achievement must be considered “significant”, i.e. reaching a national or international final or event. The individual or team must also have amateur status and their sport must be affiliated to a recognised governing body of sport.
The individual or team members must also reside with the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area, or represent the district through participation.
Explaining the new scheme, the council’s Director of Community, Health and Leisure, Robert Gibson, told councillors last week, “It was recognised that in the grant schemes previously in place, that there was a gap, and there was an opportunity missed.”
Suggesting the cap of £500 and £1,000, he said the council would not always have to award the maximum. He said the amount of money could be determined on a case by case basis.
Fermanagh Ulster Unionist councillor Robert Irvine said while he supported the principle of the new scheme, he was concerned that the additional cost had not been factored into the council’s projected spend for the year.
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