€3 million Public-Private Partnership Invests in Irish Communities supporting Diaspora tourism
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€3 million Public-Private Partnership Invests in Irish Communities supporting Diaspora tourism
‘The Gathering’ Effect Continues as 2015 Funding Round
Opens for Community Tourism Initiative for the Diaspora
The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today announced that applications for funding are now being sought under the Community Tourism Initiative for the Diaspora. The initiative, launched last year, builds on the community involvement legacy of The Gathering 2013 and is a joint partnership between IPB Insurance, Fáilte Ireland and the 31 Local Authorities.
Now in its second year, the scheme provides an annual fund of €1m (€3m in total) to support local community-based events and festivals each year. Last year, the 376 local events which were supported attracted up to 40,000 visitors from overseas. Administered by local authorities, the application process for 2015 is now open and will close on March 31st. Interested parties are advised to contact their local authority to apply.
The success of this Public-Private partnership model was illustrated by the impact of the €2 million IPB Gathering Ireland Fund, which targeted local community festivals and events as well as larger towns through flagship events during the year of The Gathering in 2013.
Announcing this year’s funding, Minister Ring emphasised:
“The Gathering brought communities together and many local communities wanted to continue to build on its impact by organising small festivals to reach out to the diaspora. Small in scope, many of these festivals would not be eligible under Fáilte Ireland’s national and regional festivals schemes. Thanks to the support of IPB and Fáilte Ireland, the local authorities now have this initiative as an option to assist small local festivals all around the county.
“Despite their size, as a collective, these events made an impact last year, delivering tens of thousands of additional visitors – in many cases to parts which do not regularly receive tourists. I would urge anyone out there with a good idea or interesting event, which would help us to reach out to the diaspora, to get in touch with their local authority to see if they can assist”.
The Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative is administered at county level where local authorities seek applications for support from local community events. 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.
IPB Insurance CEO Ronan Foley today said:
“We know from our experience of previous community-based Diaspora initiatives that empowered and engaged communities really deliver for their locality. This initiative is about further resourcing communities to help themselves in reaching out to their own local Diaspora, building a legacy that will make a difference socially and economically. We know these events work that’s why this campaign is a three year programme further emphasising the belief we all have in resourcing communities to help themselves.
“The public private partnership in The Gathering between the Government and IPB in 2013 resulted in an estimated direct injection into the local economy of €50 million attracting approximately 85,000 overseas visitors. We are absolutely committed to building on this to leave a long term legacy ultimately contributing to the long term sustainability of these communities.”
Commenting on the importance of the legacy of The Gathering, Fáilte Ireland Director Paul Keeley emphasised:
“We witnessed during ‘The Gathering’ an appetite out there amongst thousands of communities to get involved in building links to the Irish diaspora – indeed, at times, we were pleasantly surprised by the level of enthusiasm and creativity we encountered.
“For that reason, we were very keen that there would be some lasting footprint from all that work in 2013. The Community Tourism Initiative allows us to sustain many of those grass roots networks which sprang to life during The Gathering and create an infrastructure of events and relationships which will have long term tourism and social benefits for many years to come”.
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.
Paul Reid, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, speaking on behalf of the local authorities, said today:
“Local Authorities are delighted to continue to support events that reach out and connect with our Diaspora. Creating opportunities for communities to innovate and hold events for local and visiting groups is at the heart of what local authorities do, building vibrant places to work, visit and live in. We saw hundreds of initiatives drawing thousands of people to every corner of the country last year and look forward to more in 2015.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alex Connolly – Head of Communications
Fáilte Ireland
086 7966320/01 8847884alex.connolly@failteireland.ie
Tom Keane
Head of Marketing and Communications
IPB Insurance
01 6396676 / 083 3456390tom.keane@ipb.ie
Maeve Bourke - Communications Manager,
Local Government Management Agency
01-6332313 /olam@lgma.ie
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