GAA Development Fund

LOANS

Terms & Conditions

• Loans are only available to assist clubs with the development of vested GAA properties only.
• Only applications for Core GAA activity will be considered. Core GAA activities are defined below (Non-Core GAA activities are any developments that is not mentioned below):

(A) Land Purchase (Purchase of lands to develop GAA facilities)

(B) Pitch Development

(i) Development of Synthetic Playing Surfaces

(ii) Development of Grass Playing Surfaces (Groundworks, Drainage, Irrigation)

(iii) Goalposts & Ball-stop Nets

(C) Floodlights (New and upgrades)

(D) Dressing Rooms

(E) Ball Wall / Ball Alley

• Top-Up Loans or refinancing existing debt will not be funded by the GAA Development Fund.
• Only clubs ready to start project works (and where applicable, with planning permission granted) should apply. If successful, clubs will have 6 months from the letter of offer to drawdown the loan. After this, the loan offer will expire, and the club will need to submit a new application when the fund re-opens.
• Clubs are expected to demonstrate they have 30% of the overall cost of the project in available funds (Matched Funding). The value of the loan will not exceed 70% of the cost of the project.
• Clubs who have a minimum of €10,000 on deposit in the Fund will be given priority consideration where demand exceeds supply.
• The cumulative maximum loan amount available to any one club is €100,000/£100,000 (Depending on Jurisdiction of Club).
• Maximum repayment term of 10 years Repayment terms are set out below:

1. <EUR/STG 49k = 5 years
2. >EUR/STG 49k but <EUR/GBP80k = 8 years
3. >EUR/STG 80K = 10 years

Note: There are no penalties for early repayment.

• Variable interest rate applicable, currently 1.9%. This interest rate is set by the NFMC, and any changes will be advised in writing to each club.
• Repayments are to be made monthly by Direct Debit (26 counties) or Standing Order (6 counties & outside the island of Ireland). Interest will accrue daily and be charged to the account monthly.
• The availability of funds is subject to the Funding Policy criteria, as set out by the NFMC for the overall fund. Should the Fund become oversubscribed, the NFMC retains absolute discretion in relation to the loan amount award, considering the club's demonstrated needs.

Loan Process

1. 1^st December 2026 - Foireann opens for clubs to submit loan applications.
2. 31^st January 2027 – Foireann closes
3. February 2027 – The County Board conducts the review process and provides approval for the applications.
4. March 2027 – Provincial Council reviews only applications approved by the County Board and provided their recommendation
5. April 2027 – National Finance Staff review only those applications that have been approved by the County and Province. Following their review, they provide recommendations to the National Financial Management Committee, which holds the final approval authority.
6. End of April 2027/ Start of May 2027 - Clubs will be notified if successful or not.

NOTE: If an application reaches the NFMC following review by the County & Province which is incomplete or missing documentation, the application will be rejected by the NFMC. (The County & Province will have the option to inform the club of missing information if spotted during their reviews and seek resubmission from the clubs.

All applications for loans must come through Foireann. The Clubs Foireann Administrator must apply by clicking on the link below and filling out the application form: https://www.foireann.ie/