Vol. 526 No. 2
119 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if investment in track and field sporting and recreational activities here is on par with that of other European countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26196/00]
120 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if sporting and recreational facilities, passive and active, indoor and outdoor, here are adequate to meet increased population demands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26197/00]
121 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his plans for improve ment of training and coaching facilities in respect of track and field events here with the objective of improving Irelands performance in the next Olympics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26199/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 to 121, inclusive, together.
Substantial funding continues to be provided by my Department to support the development of track and field sporting and recreational facilities and activities in Ireland. The increase in sports funding from £13.5 million in 1997, when this Government took office, to the all-time high of over £51 million this year, has ensured both a very considerable improvements in the quality and extent of the facilities and services available to date and lays the foundation for even greater benefits to all sports in Ireland.
Capital funding for the provision of sport and recreational facilities has increased by over 350% since I took office. Recently, the Deputy will be aware, I announced the allocation of a grant of £4.8 million towards the provision of a new state of the art indoor athletics facility for Morton Stadium, Santry. This major new facility will be a boon to the all-year round training, coaching and competitive needs of Irish track and field athletes. It will also provide new administrative headquarters for the newly unified governing body of Irish athletics.
In addition, substantial grants have been made towards the upgrading, refurbishment and provision of athletics facilities in Cork, Galway, Navan, Castleisland and Nenagh.
Under the sports capital programme, nearly 700 clubs and organisations were allocated grants amounting to £36 million this year. This is helping to ensure that we have a network of good quality facilities around the country to meet the needs of a wide number of sports and disciplines. The planned facilities at Stadium and Campus Ireland will add to the greatly enhanced range of sophisticated, high quality facilities available in Ireland.
The sports capital programme provides funding for sporting facilities at national, regional and local level. Prior to deciding on the funding for national and regional facilities the Department, in addition to normal assessment criteria, consults with all the national governing bodies of the organisations in question with a view to establishing their present and future priorities. The Department also consults with other Government Departments, local authorities and the Irish Sports Council, in relation to their respective priorities for the provision of sporting facilities.
122 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the number of applications for sporting, recreational and amenity grants received in his Department from County Kildare in respect of the current year; the number to which he has given approval; the number of unsuccessful applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26200/00]
The information requested by the Deputy is as follows:
|
Total number of applications for Kildare |
52 |
|
Number of successful applications approved |
25 |
|
Number of unsuccessful applications |
27 |
123 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties that some success ful applicants of national lottery funding experience in order to draw down the funds; if he will have considerations made into introducing a suitable mechanism to assist such applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26201/00]
Following a review of the sports capital programme in 1998 a revised programme with guidelines, terms and conditions and an annual application process was introduced in 1999. In 1999, 1,900 applications were received for funding under the programme and grants were awarded to 450 voluntary and community organisations. In 2000, 1,650 applications were received under the programme with grants being allocated to some 670 groups. All of these allocations are subject to the terms and conditions of the sports capital programme.
The vast majority of the grantees have been in a position to satisfy the conditions under which the grants are awarded. There have only been a small number of cases where, for a variety of reasons, grants do not fall due for payment.
