Playing Outside Grant 2021

The Department of Children Equality Diversity Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is pleased to announce that applications will open for the Playing Outside 2021 tomorrow the 18th of June.

Applications will be open from June 18th – August 31st 2021.  Applications cannot be submitted outside this application window. All applications must be submitted on the HIVE.

There is €5.5 million in funding available under this grant to support childcare services to enhance their outdoor playing area, in line with current public health guidelines.

The amount of grant which is paid to each Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Service is based on the number of individual children registered in a service on one or more DCEDIY programmes on the 3rd of May 2021.  The number of individual children registered will be taken from Early Years Portal and PIP systems hosted by Pobal.

To be eligible for funding, you must have had at least one registered child on one of the following schemes on the 3rd of May:

• National Childcare Scheme (NCS)
  • Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
  • Community Childcare Subvention Programme Plus (CCSP)
  • Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (CSSR)
  • Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement Transition (CSSR-T)
  • Training and Employment Childcare (TEC)

Payment of the grant:

Payments to approved applicants will commence from Friday 25th June and will occur weekly thereafter. Applicants will be paid 100% of their grant allocation, and will receive their payment within 10 working days of submitting their application.

The amount of funding each service is allocated under The Playing Outside Grant 2021 is as follows:

Further information

For further information on the programme rules and how to apply for this grant please read the Applicant Guidelines (HERE).

For a Step by Step guide on how to complete the application on HIVE please read the Technical Guidelines (HERE).

If you require any further clarifications or information please raise a Service Request in HIVE using the following categories as appropriate:

Program
POG (Playing Outside Grant)

Category
• Payment
• Application Form
• Program Clarification
• Technical Issue
• Review Eligibility

Subcategory
• General

Please note the Early Years Provider Centres Opening Hours are 9am to 5pm Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri and 10am to 5pm Wed. 

You can also call on Telephone number 01 511 7222.