Attainment badge
Attainment badges were awards earned by youth members of Scouting Ireland, the Irish national Scout organisation, based on a variety of adventurous outdoor activities. These badges were originally developed by the former Scouting Ireland S.A.I. for its sectional programmes in the Scout section and the Sea Scout section. These programmes, among others in Scouting Ireland, continue to be used until the conclusion of the current programme development process. The Attainment badges are different from Merit badges, also awards earned by youth members of Scouting Ireland, based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements.
The badges
A core of 7 attainment badges ("The Magnificent Seven") were developed by the SAI which are universal across the Scout programme and the Sea Scout programme. A further 7 badges were developed by the Sea Scout team which are mostly specialist water activities badges that aid the Sea Scout programme, supplementing its primary progressive badge scheme. These badges, while developed for just one of the programmes, are open to members of both the Scout and Sea Scout section to achieve. The 14 attainment badges are listed below.
| Name | Programme |
|---|---|
| Backwoods | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Camp Skills | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Camping | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Canoeing | Sea Scouts |
| Cycling | Sea Scouts |
| Expedition | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| First Aid | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Hiking | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Powerboating | Sea Scouts |
| Rafting | Sea Scouts |
| Rowing | Sea Scouts |
| Sailing | Sea Scouts |
| Survival | Scouts & Sea Scouts |
| Swimming | Sea Scouts |
Replacement
The ONE Programme, introduced from 2011 replaced attainment badges with "Adventure Skills" - a set of 9 Scouting skill proficiency badges at stages 1–9, available through all programme sections - and "Special Interest Badges (SIBs)" - a genericised set of 5 badges with a different interest area (Community, Adventure, Skill, Physical, Environment), 4 of which also tie-in with the Gaisce Award Scheme, these 5 badges are coloured to match the brand of the Programme Section the badge was earned in. There is also a set of Nautical Badges in each section to tie-in with the Sea Scout symbolic framework.