Kilkenny parks get funding for ‘outdoor exercise zone’ and boules court
Two Kilkenny outdoor parks have been awarded €70,000 in funding.
Kilkenny Countryside Park has been allocated €60,000 under the Government‘s new Participation Outdoor Fund announced by Sports Minister Thomas Byrne.
The funding will be to pay for equipment and safety surfacing works on ‘outdoor exercise zones’ along the park trails.
Slieverue Linear Park has also been awarded €10,000 to develop an outdoor ‘boules court’.
The local funding is part of a nationwide €2.26 million allocated to 30 local sports partnerships across the country ‘to support the purchase and installation of permanent sport infrastructure that can be placed on public land for community use’.
In line with the Programme for Government target of reaching 60% overall participation in sport by 2027, the fund is designed to spur physical activity in local community settings by supporting Local Sports Partnerships with the development of barrier-free sport projects on publicly-accessible land.
Announcing the funding, Minister Byrne said: “I am very glad to announce the first allocations under the Participation Nation Outdoor Fund which will benefit every Local Sports Partnership across the country. This is a new fund which seeks to increase participation levels in local community settings by assisting Local Sports Partnerships with the purchase and installation of barrier-free sports infrastructure.
“As a Government, we want to see our participation levels in sport and physical activity maximised to the greatest extent possible. Budget 2025 represented a landmark moment for Irish sport with our target of doubling the sport budget compared to 2018 levels being reached two years ahead of schedule.”
