Disability Training Framework and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
This is the fourth in a series looking at where Dormant Accounts Funding will be allocated, and spotlighting examples of how the money will be spent. Here we look at Disability Training Framework and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. You can find the hub page for the series here.
Disability Training Framework
Total funding of €300,000 will be awarded to Active Disability Ireland to support the expansion of eLearning Workshops to promote inclusive participation for people with disabilities.
Active Disability Ireland will give special consideration to women and girls with disabilities in sport this year. This funding will support the creation of targeted resources for women and girls with disabilities, with a focus on understanding and addressing barriers to inclusion in sport and physical activity.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
The Equality, Diversity & Inclusion fund will be awarded €500,000 to support projects that remove barriers to participation in sport and physical activity for individuals from diverse and underrepresented communities.
First introduced in 2024, this stream will support projects such as Trail Criú, which is being run by Wicklow Sports Partnership.
This initiative is aimed at those living in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres and Ukrainian settlements.
Wicklow Sports Partnership will partner with She Summits and Athletics Ireland to deliver this programme, which will see a series of trail running/hiking groups set up in IPAS centres.
This is a model that has been successfully piloted in Kippure Estate in west Wicklow. There are now 40 active trail runners/ hikers who take part in a weekly trail run and Parkrun - and a number of the members have entered various Irish Mountain Running Association (IMRA) races.
Spotlight: Empower Golf/Tipperary LSP
Empower Golf is a Tipperary LSP initiative in partnership with Golf Ireland, providing an opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in an inclusive, leadership based personal development project.
Tipperary LSP chose partners, including Vision Sports Ireland, Down Syndrome Tipperary, and Special Olympics Ireland, to focus on the inclusion of diverse groups and those most often excluded from sports and physical activities.
Tipperary LSP will recruit participants (and a companion) in a beginner’s golf programme across three locations in the county. The inclusion of companions on the project is crucial, as it offers the opportunity for parents, siblings or carers to exercise with the person with a disability.
Participants will be trained as Community Golf Instructors to allow them to become community leaders in the sport.
They will then be able to return to their communities to deliver Community Golf Initiatives, creating community champions and ensuring the sustainability of Empower Golf.
Award: €17,500