I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to deal with this matter. With the permission of the House I propose to share time with Deputy Crawford.
Private Members' Business. - Carrickmacross (Monaghan) Recreation Centre.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I request that funding be provided to complete the Phoenix Recreation Centre in Carrickmacross, which is a major facility suitable for indoor sports and community events. In the past, funding was provided by a previous Government and substantial funding has also been raised by the local community.
Carrickmacross is situated in the Border area. Over the years a great deal of special funding has been provided for the Border region, through INTERREG, special Leader programmes and the International Fund for Ireland but none under the rules, to this centre.
Following the ceasefire in 1994 the European Union provided peace and reconciliation funding, some of which can be made available through the relevant local authorities for facilities such as that about which I speak in Carrickmacross.
Will the Minister examine how moneys from that source, from his Department and those collected by the local community can be disbursed to ensure the completion of this facility? It is very worthy of support. The nearest town to Carrickmacross is Crossmaglen, only six miles from the Armagh border. The facility would have a major cross-Border dimension and make a worthwhile contribution to the economic, social and sporting life of a very large community on both sides of the Border.
I know the Minister of State will give me an accurate assessment of the position, unlike his Minister two weeks ago when I asked whether she would provide funding to repair a roof on Castleblayney junior school in County Monaghan.Her reply was that she was not in a position to sanction funding for this project at present, that it would have to be considered within the scope of existing contractual commitments and available funds. She said she would keep expenditure on the primary building programme under review during the year and her Department would contact the school management directly on the matter. Yet, one week later, she was able to provide £70,000, announced, not by the school but by a Deputy from the Government side of the House. This is not the way to treat any Member of the House but I know the Minister of State will not adopt such an attitude.
I thank Deputy O'Hanlon for affording me an opportunity to speak on this important issue.
I am glad to report I was successful in twisting the Minister's arm to have some £70,000 provided for Castleblayney junior school and, between us, I hope we will obtain a satisfactory response from the Minister of State, Deputy Allen.
The Phoenix Club is a necessity for the community of Carrickmacross, which has a very large young population in need of proper facilities to engage in sport and prevent them from becoming involved in other less rewarding or dangerous activities. Parents and the community at large there are very keen that these facilities be provided.
One need only cite the case of Rose Lambe who must travel to Monaghan to issue an award to the Patrician High School, located right beside the club, winners of the Junior B all-Ireland final last week, but who have no facilities and the case of St. Louis Secondary School, winners of the Junior A Secondary Basketball Club who cannot play a home game and Inver College, also located right beside the club. These three major schools want to utilise this very valuable asset.
At present the club is something of a white elephant. As Dr. O'Hanlon said, some £250,000 was spent on it, £95,000 of which was Government money. With approximately £200,000 available in a bank it is absolutely essential that the Minister — who I know has been in consultation with Monaghan County Council — produce the remainder. The danger is that a small amount will be given which would be insufficient to finalise this project.
The people of Carrickmacross have been awaiting the completion of this club for many years and now depend on the Minister of State and his Department.
I am grateful to Deputies O'Hanlon and Crawford for having raised this matter of the Phoenix Centre in Carrickmacross which affords me an opportunity to explain the position.
Since the early 1970s, there has been a concerted local effort to provide sporting facilities for the town of Carrickmacross and surrounding areas. These efforts culminated in a decision in 1986 by the local committee to build a sports hall. My Department was pleased to be in a position to allocate a grant of £100,000 towards this project in 1988 under the national lottery funded sports capital programme.
Construction work began on the sports hall in 1988 and, by 1990, there was a fully enclosed structure, complete with windows and doors, on the site but internal services such as plumbing, heating or lighting had not been provided. Unfortunately in 1990, due to a number of factors, including lack of funds, work on the building ceased. At the time my Department had paid a grant of £95,000. I am aware the facility, as it stood, was used on occasions by local schools up to 1993 when it closed due to the condition of the building and problems encountered with obtaining insurance cover.
In 1993 a new local committee was formed which employed consultants to investigate the possibility of developing the building to the extent that it could be used. The plans and costings prepared show that an amount of £740,000 is needed for completion but that an investment of £500,000 would convert the building into a usable structure.
The hard working committee has continued to plan and fund-raise for the completion of this sports hall. I understand it hopes to raise up to £100,000 and has already collected a substantial portion of that amount. In view of the history of this project, it cannot have been an easy task to have raised that level of funding. I take this opportunity to congratulate the committee on its commitment and enthusiasm without which the vision of a sports hall in Carrickmacross would have died a long time ago.
The Committee has been in touch with the sports section of my Department at whose request it contacted the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management — known as ILAM — regarding the operational feasibility of the sports hall in the event that it could be brought into operation. At the invitation of Deputies Crawford, Boylan and Senator Bill Cotter I visited the site some time ago. I was impressed with the work already done but noted the derelict, abandoned state of the hall. Since then I understand that Monaghan County Council has also expressed an interest in the matter and I have had discussions with the county manager.
We recently requested the committee to undertake a further investigation into the viability of a completed sports hall. I understand a consultant's report is due to be received very shortly.
Deputies will appreciate that even with a very effective local committee, a large investment of public funds will be required if the sports hall is to be brought into use. Needless to say, it would be in everyone's interest that, if further work takes place on the building in Carrickmacross, it will result in a sports hall which can operate on a cost-effective basis while meeting the needs of the community it serves.
The request for additional funding towards Carrickmacross sports hall will be considered under the major facilities scheme. My Department's sports capital programme comprises more than 140 major projects with total grant allocations amounting to in excess of £40 million. An amount in the region of £4 million is available for allocation to projects under the major facilities scheme this year. However, I must point out that demand for funding under this scheme continues to rise with relatively limited funding available for allocation. Typically, my Department has in hand in excess of 1,000 applications for funding under its sports capital programme at any given time, the overall value of the grant aid requested ranging from amounts of £75 million upwards. Each application is reviewed on its merits in accordance with the criteria of the scheme.
I assure both Deputies I will give their request every consideration when decisions are being taken on those grant allocations this year.
The sports strategy group, under the chairmanship of Mr. John Treacy, in its report entitled "Targeting Sporting Change in Ireland", launched in February last, sets out a strategic approach to sports in Ireland from 1997 to the year 2000 and beyond and recommends a revised approach to the provision and funding of sports facilities in the future on the basis of the development of a national plan for community facilities and for national and competition facilities. Work on the development of this plan is now under way.
In future, any decisions taken will ensure that, whenever allocations are made, projects will be brought to finality. I very much regret seeing a project like this in its present condition. I am considering the views of all concerned in the region very seriously and will continue to do so in the weeks ahead.
The Dail adjourned at 12.20 a.m. until 10.30 a.m., Thursday, 1 May 1997.