Minister Calleary launches €20 million fund to support Outdoor Recreation in rural areas

• Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme now open for applications
• Targeted funding for Gaeltacht and Island communities
• Enhanced funding for project development and maintenance of existing amenities

The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, has launched the 2026-2027 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) with €20 million available for investment.

The Minister launched the scheme while in Co. Monaghan at the official opening of recreational enhancements on Black Island, Lough Muckno, a project that received over €500,000 in ORIS funding in 2022.

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme provides funding for the development and maintenance of new and existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural areas and will support hundreds of outdoor recreation projects nationwide.

Now in its tenth year, the scheme has to date invested over €150 million in over 2,000 recreation projects at our mountains, lakes, rivers, beaches, blue-ways, bogs, forest walks and upland areas.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister said:

Funding under the 2026-2027 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme will provide support across three main measures with funding of up to €40,000 for Small Scale repairs, maintenance, promotion and marketing under Measure 1. Under Measure 2, grant amounts of up to €200,000 are available for medium scale repair/ maintenance/upgrade and new trail/amenity development. Finally grants of up to €500,000 are available in Measure 3 for strategic large-scale repair/upgrade and new strategic trail/amenity development. In addition, an enhanced Project Development Measure (PDM) will support lead applicants in delivering a pipeline of shovel ready projects for future funding rounds.

Applications are invited from local authorities, local development companies and state bodies, in consultation with local communities and aligning with emerging project recommendations from new county outdoor recreation plans that are being developed across the country.

The Minister concluded by saying:

The 2026-27 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme with an allocation of €20 million with support for the development and maintenance of recreational projects nationwide.

Funding is available under four measures;

• Measure 1: Small Scale Repair/Maintenance/Development/Promotion and Marketing (Grant Amounts: Up to €40,000)
• Measure 2: Medium Scale Repair/ Maintenance/Upgrade and New Trail/Amenity Development (Grant Amounts: Up to €200,000)
• Measure 3: Strategic Large-Scale Repair/Upgrade and New Strategic Trail/Amenity Development (Grant amounts: Up to €500,000)
• Project Development Measure: Development costs for New Projects (Grant amounts: vary up to combined maximum of €100,000 per local authority or €70,000 per local development company)

Gaeltacht and the Islands:

• Local authorities may submit one additional Project Development Measure for a project valued at up to €50,000 if they have offshore islands or Gaeltacht areas
• Local authorities can submit one additional application under Measure 1 if they have offshore islands or Gaeltacht areas.

New for 2026:

• Local authorities may also submit one additional application to the value of €50,000 to support the predevelopment work required to develop equestrian trails/bridleways This is with a view to increasing the number of these facilities in a targeted way.

Applications under measure 1 and the PDM will close on 25 September, with measure 2 and 3 applications being accepted to 15 December.