Six county outdoor recreation officers are to be appointed as part of a €2 million package of measures to support the development of “County Outdoor Recreation Plans”, Minister for Rural Affairs Heather Humphreys has said.
Funding of €1.28 million over three years has also been approved for a pilot programme to introduce county outdoor recreation officers in six local sports partnerships – Clare, Longford, Sligo, Waterford, Mayo, and Meath, she has said.
The funding is part of a commitment in Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027, which “sets the stage to strengthen and support the sustainable development of the outdoor recreation sector in Ireland for years to come”, she says.
Among the key actions in the strategy is the development of county outdoor recreation plans and the establishment of a county outdoor recreation committee to “achieve a more planned and coordinated approach for the development of outdoor recreation in the county”, she says.
Each county will now receive funding of up to €30,000 to develop a short, focused plan to underpin the effective development of their outdoor recreation amenities. New guidelines have also been published to ensure that the plans are aligned with the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy.
The plans should take into account the current outdoor recreation amenities in an area and outline where outdoor recreation infrastructure and services should be located over a three-year period, she says.
Future investment decisions in each county will then be informed by these plans, including funding decisions taken under schemes such as the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS).
The outdoor recreation officer posts are part of a three-year pilot programme which is being delivered in collaboration with Sport Ireland.
“These officers will provide expertise and guidance to the outdoor recreation sector in the county and will co-ordinate the development and the delivery of the county outdoor recreation plan in their county,” Humphreys says.