Roll up, roll up, genuine Dolex
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Mate. Cant read that. Please post
Tusla boots funding from Shamrock Rovers childcare scheme
State funding is withdrawn from school-age after-school service operating from premises next to the club’s training academy in Tallaght
Shamrock Rovers had hoped to use the after-school care service to boost training hours for young soccer prospects
Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Paul Rowan, Irish Football Correspondent
Saturday May 02 2026, 9.50pm BST, The Sunday Times
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A Tusla-regulated childcare service at Ireland’s leading soccer club Shamrock Rovers — which was touted as pioneering a new academy structure for the sport in Ireland — has ceased after state funding was withdrawn.
“While it is not appropriate for Tusla to comment on the specific details of individual applications of early years providers, we can confirm that Shamrock Rovers Community Foundation made an application in 2024 to provide and register a school-age after-school service operating from a premises adjacent to its training academy in Tallaght,” Tusla said in a statement to The Sunday Times last Friday.
“A service operated for short periods in 2025 and 2026 and did receive some state funding for these short periods. The service has since ceased.”
The Tusla U-turn is understood to have happened after an inspection of the site and a review of the funding application
Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Tusla would not confirm how much state money had been pumped into the scheme, but it is thought to run into thousands of euros. Rovers are also believed to have spent tens of thousands on upgrading the facility.
The Tusla U-turn is understood to have happened after an inspection of the site and a review of the funding application. “The school-age care regulations would not and do not permit the registration of a school-age service for the purposes of elite sport,” Tusla added. “The legislation expressly prohibits services that are solely sport-focused from the definitions of a school-age service and therefore are ineligible to be registered.
“It is important to note that a service cannot receive or be in receipt of state funding under the national childcare scheme [NCS] unless the service meets the criteria to be registered.”
The Shamrock Rovers scheme was the brainchild of the club’s former chief executive John Martin, who is now director of football at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Rovers set it up in 2024, under the auspices of the newly formed Shamrock Rovers Community Foundation, a non-profit entity separate from the club and the academy where [young players are developed]
Rovers believed they could increase training time for each child in the 6-15 age bracket by up to 300 hours a year for boys and girls. The club managed to gain Tusla approval for an upgraded academy set-up that qualified for financial support via the NCS.
This allowed Rovers to draw down funding at the NCS rates — a minimum of €2.14 for every hour of training by every child in the academy. The club had ambitions to increase training hours and hire more coaches who would have to be paid in line with childcare provider rates of about €15 an hour.
Rovers hoped to generate income levels initially of about €100,000 a year, which they were legally bound to reinvest in the academy
Government ministers and local TDs in west Dublin were said to be on board with the scheme, which was even described as being the first of its kind in the world.
“It’s an innovative and progressive way of funding our academy and helping us support an industry,” Martin told the Irish Independent in October 2024. “We are encouraged by the support we’ve had from government.”
Martin was also reported to have offered the FAI a seat on the board of the CLG — the non-profit entity — to provide oversight, and Rovers expressed confidence that the model could be rolled out by other clubs once they went through the Tusla process.
The idea was to provide a learning place for the children between leaving school and starting evening training. However, complications are believed to have arisen when it became clear that the scheme was not open to the general public and after the departure of Martin to the FAI.
Shamrock Rovers, Martin and the FAI did not comment.
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Thanks
FAI director of football John Martin talks FIFA review over agent agreements: I acted in best interests of Shamrock Rovers
Updated / Wednesday, 6 May 2026 17:04
FAI director of football John Martin has said he always acted in the best interest of Shamrock Rovers amid a FIFA review into agent agreements surrounding a player at the club.
It was confirmed earlier this year that a complaint was made by the mother of Hoops teenage striker Michael Noonan to the English FA regarding agent agreements.
Rovers then announced that they are working with FIFA to review two agreements.
The review process will establish if any FIFA rules were breached.
A statement from the club in February read: "We would like to clarify that the club is not the subject of investigation from any of the FA, FAI or FIFA.
"The club is, however, working with FIFA to review two agency agreements. The process with FIFA is ongoing and the FAI has been notified.
“The club’s relationship with the player and his family has always been and continues to be extremely strong.”
Martin, who was Shamrock Rovers CEO during the time that the agreements were made and has since joined the FAI, has stated he is happy with his tenure at Tallaght Stadium and is keen to see the review process completed.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport’s Tony O’Donoghue at an FAI media event today, Martin said: "I’m really comfortable with everything I did in Rovers.
"I have a fantastic relationship with lots of influential people in Rovers. Everything I did there was always through the lens of what I felt was in the best interests of the football club. Every decision. I’m really comfortable with that.
"Everything I did was, honest, fair and transparent from my perspective. If I go back to my time in Rovers I had hundreds of agreements, answered thousands of e-mails, I did a huge amount of work there.
"I’d say I gave my life for that job, and anyone who was close to me, will tell you that. I gave everything I had. Every drop of energy, every hour of the day, I gave it to that job.
“I’m proud of everything I did there. In every decision, I thought it was in the best interest of football club. I never strayed away from that and that’s my position.”
John Martin briefed the media on his role of FAI director of football today
Martin is keen to get answers whilst feeling somewhat in the dark for now, telling reporters: "I know Rovers have referred it to FIFA and they’re looking for clarity on that. I understand nothing has come back from FIFA yet on it.
"I suppose when something does come back maybe there’s something to discuss at that stage.
"Of course you look back and say maybe I might have done this different or that different across a range of different things in the club. I go back to my old corporate days.
“There are things, you go back and say, 'God yeah, I’d probably do that slightly differently’. I think without getting into specifics of any agreements, there’s always things you would probably do a little bit differently for sure.”
Asked whether he felt there was an error made in the work around the agreement, Martin said he is unsure.
“I don’t know. I suppose it probably depends what comes back [from the review process]. I know Rovers have referred it. It’s not something that’s come my way in this position to determine. I suppose it’s to maybe not pre-empt what might come back on that.”
The FAI have given their backing to their director of football during the process.
Chief executive David Courell told RTÉ previously: "I can only judge John on how he has carried himself in the role as director of football when he joined us in September and became an employee of the association.
"I think he’s been fantastic for all the reasons why we appointed him, his leadership skills, his understanding of the landscape, his stakeholder management skills, his vision for the game. He’s been really strong.
“I’ve obviously, as you would expect, had conversations with John on this topic, and I’m satisfied that John operated in good faith, and we are supportive of John in his position as director of football.”
He’s taking a fairly strange position here. Not definitively saying he didn’t breach any FIFA regulation, just that he’s certain he acted in the best interests of Shamrock & sure let’s wait & see if the FIFA review uncovers anything. I’d like to see a senior FAI official being more aware of what’s correct practice in real time.
Noonan is off the boil this season
Ben Mahon is the future of irish football
What is the nub of the issue? Noonan had a prospective move to Hoffenheim lined up but it fell through? Due to agent fees or interference or what supposedly happened?
He signed for rovers and if rovers sold him the agent got a %
Something like that
He made a decision not to go to hoffenheim which meant rovers lost money
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Rovers only themselves to blame getting into bed with that family. The oul one is deluded
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I tried to tell you pal , he’s the next franny Jeffers .
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