Online booking system for community centres

South Dublin County Council signed a contract with leading sports software company SportsKey Ltd. to develop an online booking system for its network of community centres.

This will see community centres in the county being able to offer sports clubs, tutors and the general public the ability to see when centres have free times and book and pay for usage. The system complements the pitches booking system which SportsKey developed for the Council.

Funding for the initiative came through Sport Ireland’s Innovation Fund, backed by the Dormant Accounts Fund and was applied for through the South Dublin Co. Sports Partnership.

Thos McDermott, Co-ordinator of the Sports Partnership, says the idea behind the project is to give community centres the ability to meet the wishes of people who are now used to booking or ordering items online.

It can also help the community centres to make themselves more visible to the wider community and help ensure that they maximise their opening hours.

SportsKey founder Craig Bewley is delighted to be a partner in this new venture. “Our mission is to help organisations maximise the potential of their facilities through our customised booking systems and to help get the community participating in sport We already have a great relationship with South Dublin Co. Co. for their outdoor pitches and park pavilions, and this project – which is unique in Ireland – will add hugely to the Council’s community offering”.

It is planned that the first centres will come on stream in late September with a roll-out over the next few years.