Vol. 547 No. 1
1078 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the extent to which his Department or other bodies under his aegis are willing to assist in the costs associated with the restoration and preservation of St. Joseph's School, Kilcock, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2879/02]
The national lottery-funded sports capital programme, administered by my Department, provides financial assistance to clubs-organisations for the provision of sporting and recreational facilities. The aims and objectives of the programme are to: develop an integrated and planned approach to the development of sport and recreational facilities; assist voluntary and community organisations with the development of appropriate facilities in appropriate locations that will maximise use in terms of participation in sport and recreation; prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas in the provision of facilities; and encourage the multi-purpose use of facilities at national, regional and community level by clubs, community organisations and national governing bodies of sport.
The programme is advertised annually and applications for funding from clubs-organisations have to be made on an individual basis. All applications received are assessed in accordance with a detailed set of criteria outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme. An application for funding was received from the organisation in question under the 2001 sports capital programme. Following assessment the application was deemed ineligible on the grounds that the applicant did not have the minimum local contribution and a feasibility study, which was required under the conditions of the programme given the estimated cost of the project, had not been carried out.
The sports capital programme for 2002 was advertised on 25 and 26 November, 2001 with a closing date of 4 January, 2002 for the receipt of completed applications. St. Joseph's School has not submitted an application under this programme. The 2003 sports capital programme will be advertised towards the end of this year and it will be open the club to apply for funding at that time if it so wishes.
