Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
837. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the appeals process relating to unsuccessful applicants in the latest round of sports capital grants; when they will receive notification of a decision regarding their appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12094/18]
View answer849. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of unsuccessful applications for sports capital grants in 2017 by county; the number of applications funded on appeal by county; the names of the organisations awarded grants on appeal; the amounts awarded; the reason each appeal was successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12256/18]
View answer861. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of invalid applications under the 2017 sports capital programme that are being reviewed by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12687/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 837, 849 and 861 together.
The 2017 round of the Sports Capital Programme (SCP) closed for applications on the 24th February. By the closing date, a record number of 2,320 applications seeking €155 million in grants were received. In November and December last, Minister Ross and I announced €60m in allocations to a record 1,800 projects under the 2017 round of the SCP.
Details of all applications, allocations and applications deemed invalid are published on my Department's website http://www.dttas.ie/sport/english/sports-capital-programme.
Following the announcement of the allocations at the end of last year, all applicants deemed invalid or partially invalid were invited to appeal the Department’s decision if it was felt that an error had been made in the assessment process. 149 appeals were submitted and of these 35 appeals were upheld.
Appeals were primarily upheld if my Department had erred in the original decision to make an application invalid or if it was felt that the guide to making an application was not clear on specific grounds for invalidation and a strong case was made by the appellants as to why the application should be accepted.
Details of all successful and unsuccessful appellants are also available on my Department's website http://www.dttas.ie/sport/english/sports-capital-programme. All 149 appellants were informed of the outcome of their appeal earlier this month.
Separately, my Department is undertaking a more general review of the 2017 round of the SCP including an analysis of all invalid applications where incorrect or incomplete documentation was submitted. This work is also examining what is feasible in terms of the scale and timing of the next round. I expect this review to be complete shortly and an announcement regarding the next round of the SCP will be made at that stage.
