Department of Defence Approved Funding of €150,000 for Sail Training Ireland

The Department of Defence has approved funding of €150,000 for Sail Training Ireland.

Ministerial approval has been obtained to continue to provide funding to Sail Training Ireland for three more years from this year, 2023. This funding will be used to provide sail training to young persons from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This funding is subject to compliance with two Performance Delivery Agreements, which were entered into between the Department of Defence and Sail Training Ireland.

The two Agreements will provide for €100,000 to be provided by the Department of Defence in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025.

In addition, €50,000 will be provided in 2023 from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Provision of this money will be subject to compliance with the Performance Delivery Agreements, particularly provision of sail training to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including young people from Northern Ireland.

For many years, the State provided funding, through the Department of Defence, for the national sail training vessel Asgard II. This scheme was terminated following the loss of Asgard II in 2008.

Sail Training Ireland was established in 2011 by some of those previously involved with Asgard II. Since 2011 almost 3,000 young people have participated in voyages through Sail Training Ireland, including 546 participants in 2022.

Sail Training Ireland places young people, mainly from disadvantaged backgrounds, on voyages for the purpose of youth development as well as teaching young people to sail.

The government agreed to provide €85,000 to Sail Training Ireland in both 2019 and 2020, subject to the group providing additional sail training experiences for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.