Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring has welcomed a new €2 million support scheme to help communities, voluntary organisations, and families to organise projects for the Gathering next year.
IPB Insurance has joined with the Gathering to provide the €2 million in response to the rapidly growing number of Gatherings being planned across the country for 2013.
The fund will be administered by local authorities across the State to support events and Gatherings that have the capacity to attract overseas visitors.
IPB Insurance has allocated €1 million of the fund to support key local events and activities in every city and county. This fund will be distributed across city and county councils and will range from €25,000 to €60,000 to support up to three key events in each council area.
At the same time, The Gathering Ireland 2013 has allocated a further €1 million to the fund to target other local and community events in each county. Grant amounts from €500 to €2,500 will be made available to these events following approval through a short application process.
The target for the combined fund will be to support 700 or more individual Gathering Ireland events.
Minister Ring said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone organising a local Gathering which will bring people from overseas. This scheme is designed for projects which need funding to get off the ground, or which have the potential to attract more overseas visitors if they get financial support.”
Those interested in applying should contact their local authority.
