Tourism

Application process for 2015 funding opens for community tourism initiative for the diaspora

Limerick City and County Council today announced that applications for funding are now being sought under the Community Tourism Initiative for the Diaspora.

The initiative builds on the community involvement legacy of The Gathering 2013 and is a joint partnership between Limerick City and County Council, IPB Insurance and Fáilte Ireland.

Now in its second year, the scheme provides a national fund of €1m to support local community-based events and festivals each year.  In 2014, nine local events were supported in Limerick.

Administered locally by Limerick City and County Council, the application process for 2015 is now open and will close on 3 April, 2015.

Interested parties are advised to contact Áine Frawley, Community Section, Limerick City and County Council by e-mail [email protected] to apply.

Application forms are also available to download from the Council website at http://www.limerick.ie/council-service-group/grants-and-funding         

Announcing this year’s grants, Josephine Cotter-Coughlan, Director of Service, Community Leisure and Emergency Services from Limerick City and County Council said:

“We all witnessed the benefits from The Gathering and this scheme gives us an opportunity to build on its legacy.

The Community Tourism Initiative allows us to sustain many of the grass roots networks which sprang to life during the Gathering in Limerick and sustain an infrastructure of events and relationships which will have long term tourism and social benefits for this region for many years to come.

For that reason, I would urge anyone out there with a good idea or an interesting event, which would help us to reach out to the diaspora, to get in touch with us and make an application.”

Local authorities throughout the country are now accepting applications in order to determine those local events with the best potential to have the impact and long-term potential to make a difference.

The initiative is being administered at local level with the grant applications and awards being decided in accordance with agreed national criteria.

Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative

The Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative, is administered at county level where local authorities seek applications for support from local community events. 

Local authorities throughout the country will now seek applications from interested parties and ultimately select those local events with the best potential to have the impact and long-term potential to make a difference.  The initiative is being administered at county/city level with grant applications and awards being decided in accordance with agreed national criteria.

The objectives of the initiative are:

  • To provide support in the form of small-scale funding incentives to community-based tourism events that have the capacity to carry through on the legacy of The Gathering;
  • To create a national network of local events with the capacity to deepen diaspora links and networks that were developed or re-activated during The Gathering year;
  • To foster the growth of strong county diaspora networks on the basis that diaspora relationships are rooted in ‘people and place’.

Crucially, the initiative is a public/private partnership with one third of the funding over its three year cycle being provided by IPB Insurance as part of its Corporate Social Engagement strategy where the Irish diaspora is a nominated priority. One third of the funding is provided by Fáilte Ireland – to build on the legacy of The Gathering. The remaining third is provided by local authorities.

 

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