Sport and Recreational Development

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2018

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Questions (528)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

528. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which he expects to be in a position to offer funding towards the development of sporting and recreational facilities, including swimming pools, in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18050/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

The Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the Government’s primary method of providing support to sports clubs and organisations for capital projects. The 2017 round of the SCP closed for applications on the 24th February 2017.  In November and December last, Minister Ross and I announced €60m in allocations to a record 1,800 projects under the 2017 round.  The funding available for the SCP in 2018 is sufficient to cover all these grants and also all commitments made under earlier rounds of the programme.  The recently published National Development Plan (NDP) provides €100m for the SCP in the period to 2021 and states that the programme will be further expanded over the period 2022–2027. An announcement in relation to the next round of the programme is expected shortly.

In relation to swimming pools, the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP) provides grant aid to local authorities towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools.  There are four swimming pool projects remaining in the current round of the LASPP and the priority in 2018 will be on progressing these projects. The existing capital envelopes for the LASPP including the 2018 one are sufficient to cover all the costs of these pools.

The NDP also contains a commitment to establish a new “Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund” (LSSIF) with at least €100m available over the coming years.  My officials have commenced drafting the terms and conditions of the new LSSIF and are currently engaging with relevant stakeholders in this regard.  An announcement in relation to when applications will be accepted will be made once these terms and conditions are finalised.

Finally, the upcoming National Sports Policy, which I expect will be considered by Government in the coming weeks with a view to its publication shortly thereafter, will include a specific focus on how Government should fund sports facilities in the years ahead.