The club referred to by the Deputy applied for a grant under the 2012 Sports Capital Programme. When the 2012 Programme was advertised my Department issued a guide to filling out the application form which clearly set out the Department’s minimum requirements that applicants had to meet to be considered for funding. Regretfully, this application did not meet these requirements on two separate grounds and hence was deemed invalid and could not be considered for funding.
As stipulated in the application form and the guide to completing the form, applicants applying for grants greater than €25,000 must provide evidence of title. A solicitor’s letter is required confirming that s/he is acting on behalf of the applicant and that the applicant either owns the site for the proposed facility or that they hold it under a lease; the leasehold or freehold title is registered with the Property Registration Authority (PRA) (if registration is pending then a dealing number from the PRA must be included); if the title is leasehold, the lease must have at least 15 years remaining; the title must be capable of supporting a charge.
The applicant’s letter from the solicitor submitted as part of the application did not confirm title as outlined above. On 5 June 2012 further documentation in relation to the title was received from the club, however as this was after the closing date for the programme it could not be considered as forming part of the application. In addition, the application did not satisfy the requirements in respect of planning permission for all aspects of the project. A letter setting out the reasons why the application was deemed invalid has been sent to the club contact.
