Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
377 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the steps he is taking to support the development of the indigenous software industry through his Department’s public procurement process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26097/06]
View answerI have no statutory function in the matter referred to by the Deputy.
378 Mr. English asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the grant programmes available from his Department and the deadlines for each programme. [26299/06]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the administration of three grant programmes — the Sports Capital Programme, the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Scheme (ACCESS) and the Local Authority Swimming Pools Programme.
The Sports Capital Programme funds the provision of sports facilities across the country. Applications for funding under the 2006 programme were invited through advertisements in the press on November 27th and 28th last. All applications received before the deadline of January 20th were evaluated against the programme's assessment criteria, which are outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme. I announced details of the provisional grant allocations for local projects on June 6th last and I will be announcing further allocations in the coming weeks for the national, regional and municipal projects throughout the country.
No date has been set for receipt of applications for the next round of the programme but I plan to make an announcement in that regard later in the year. The ACCESS programme provides capital grants to arts and cultural centres around the country. The current programme ACCESS 2001- 2004 is fully allocated and closed for applications. I hope to make an announcement on a successor scheme shortly. The current round of the Local Authority Swimming Pools Programme has been closed to new applicants since July 2000. An expenditure review of the Programme is scheduled for completion late this year, following which the question of launching a new Programme will be considered.
