Vol. 577 No. 5
39 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the closing date for receipt of applications under the 2004 sports capital programme; the total amount likely to be available for allocation; the criteria that will be used in deciding on applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31565/03]
Under the national lottery-funded sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, funding is allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. Funding is allocated on the basis of applications received. Applications are invited each year and must be submitted for each year in which funding is requested by an organisation.
The 2004 sports capital programme was recently advertised in the national newspapers on 30 November and 1 December last. The closing date for receipt of applications is 16 January 2004. A decision on the aggregate level of funding to be made available under the 2004 programme will be made following an initial assessment of the volume of applications received and having regard to the fact that €62 million has been provided for grants for sporting facilities in the 2004 Estimate for my Department.
The applications will be assessed in my Department in accordance with the assessment criteria outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme, which are issued to prospective applicants along with their application forms and which are available on my Department's website, www.dast.gov.ie.
