The website for applying for Government sports capital grant funding has been taken offline following identification of a “potential cybersecurity risk”. The Online Sports Capital Register (Oscar) system is used by sports clubs and community organisations to apply for funding from two multimillion-euro Government programmes.A notice on the site outlines that “following the identification of a potential cybersecurity risk, the Department [of Sport] took the precautionary step of closing public access to the Oscar portal on the 17th of July 2026”. A spokesman for the department said the decision was taken following a cyber-risk assessment the previous day to reduce the potential ”surface of attack" available to a bad actor or cybercriminal.“It was not as a result of a cyberattack, breach or compromise.”The review came the day after suspicious internet traffic was detected targeting a public-facing website of the National Archives, the spokesman said. While there was no evidence of unauthorised access and no indications of compromise, a review resulted in a decision to restrict access externally to this site.The suspicious traffic was targeted at a “microsite”, the department said, all of which are in the process of being ported over to a new web platform. Applicants are being asked to submit formal approval and payment requests via email, with the department outlining that it has been working since last year on a replacement system and now “does not intend to reopen Oscar to the public”.“A modern, secure and user-friendly replacement system will be open for registrations as soon as possible,” users of the website have been told. Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O’Sullivan called on the Government to get a new system online “as expeditiously as possible” and is seeking a statement from Ministers in the department assuring groups “that sufficient timelines and windows for submissions will still be provided”.[ Nine sport projects awarded €24.7m in total funding six years ago have still not startedOpens in new window ]In response to parliamentary questions earlier this year, Minister of State at the Department of Sport Charlie McConalogue said officials had identified the need to replace the existing system in 2022, with Pobal approved as the preferred provider to design and develop the new system. The department spokesman said: “The 2026 Community Sport Facilities Fund round will open for registrations as soon as possible, and further information on the new portal, the overall timelines for the round and guidance for users will be published on the department’s website. “Organisations that are already registered on Oscar will be automatically migrated to the new system. In line with previous rounds of the programme, applicants can be assured that sufficient time will be allowed in which to prepare and submit their applications.”