2023 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme Call
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys
TD, has announced a major €16 million fund to support outdoor recreation
projects. The 2023 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) will
see the development of natural amenities such as our woodlands, mountains,
rivers, lakes, beaches, bogs, walkways and will place a particular focus on
developing amenities for adventure tourism in rural Ireland. The funding
is aimed at supporting outdoor recreation tourism, a growing tourism sector internationally,
which has the potential to have major economic spin-off benefits for our rural
towns and villages as well as improving the health and well-being of rural
communities.
A list of eligible activities is detailed below, however, it
should be noted that this list is not exhaustive:-
It does not include activities that take place outdoors on
confined courses or pitches (such as Gaelic Games, golf, soccer, and
show-jumping) or motorised activities (such as quads/scramblers). As a
consequence such activities are not eligible for funding under ORIS. It
is a requirement that the infrastructure funded under ORIS should be available
free of charge to the public.
South West Mayo Development Company is seeking Expressions of Interest for
projects under measure 1:
Measure 1: Small Scale Repair/Development/Promotion
and Marketing – grant up to €30,000 Grant aid is 90% so applicant must show
evidence of match funding of 10% cash or 5% cash + 5% labour contribution at
application stage.
Please find full scheme outlines at www.gov.ie and
search for Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme 2023. Projects with
evidence of strong community engagement will be prioritised. Where a project
requires planning permission, this must be in place in
advance of an application being submitted.
Projects should be located mainly in the countryside and not in
the environs of a town or village unless the proposed project is linking a town
or village into the countryside. Please email South West Mayo Development Company,
providing details of any potential project, within the county, that meets the
prescribed criteria for eligibility under the Scheme that you would like to
have considered. Once submissions are reviewed contact will be made to advise
on the outcome of this assessment process.
All expressions of interest must be emailed to info@southmayo.com by 4.00p.m. on Friday the 14th of July.
Further information can be found at
