Apply: 2025-26 Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission’s 2025-26 Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme is now open and accepting applications until 3pm, Wednesday 4 June 2025.
The purpose of the grants scheme is to support projects by civil society and trade unions that promote human rights and equality. A total of €350,000 is available for projects.
Grants Scheme Strands
The 2025-26 Grants Scheme’s themes are informed by the Commission’s strategic priorities set out in its Strategy Statement 2025-27.
This year the Grants Scheme will support projects under the following strands:
- Strand A: Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty in combating disinformation, misinformation and hate, and building community solidarity and belonging.
- Strand B: Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty in challenging the structural causes of poverty, its impact on people and communities and the effectiveness of the State’s responses.
- Strand C: Applying the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty to ensure a human rights and equality approach to climate and environmental justice and a just transition.
Please see Guidance on Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.
Funding Streams
Funding is available for small and general grants:
- Small Grants up to: €7,000
- General Grants up to: €22,000.
Who Can Apply?
The Grants Scheme is open to civil society organisations working to promote human rights and equality and trade unions in Ireland. Civil society organisations include: local and national community and voluntary organisations, non-governmental organisations, rights-holder-led groups, groups representing area based communities or communities of interest protected under the nine grounds of the Equality legislation, well as groups experiencing poverty, socio-economic discrimination or exclusion, including international protection applicants and migrant communities.
To be eligible, civil society organisations must be not-for-profit and registered with the Company Registration Office (CRO) and/or as a Charity.