Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 February 2019
227. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the breakdown of the €61,488,000 capital allocation in sports and recreation services within his Department for 2019 by specific project; the projects that will be commenced and completed in 2019, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6040/19]
View answerThe capital funding available for sports in my Department is broken down in to several sub-heads.
D3: An amount of €42,580,000 has been provided in 2019 for the Sports Capital Programme (SCP). This programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. As it can take grantees a number of years to complete projects, there are a large number of individual grants on hand at any one time. All allocations under the SCP are published on my Department's website. Due to the number of projects and the nature of the programme it is not possible to identify and list all of the projects which will be completed this year.
In relation to the large projects that are funded under this sub-head, the overall amount also includes a retention amount of €1.5m which remains outstanding in relation to the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and an amount of €1,022,588 for the Kerry Sports Academy at IT Tralee. Páirc Uí Chaoimh was officially opened in October 2017 and it is expected that the Kerry Sports Academy will open later this year.
D4: An amount of €4.2m has been provided in 2019 for the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP) which provides grant aid to a maximum of €3.8m 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 LASPP, namely Castlebar, Lucan, Buncrana and Edenderry. Castlebar is expected to open shortly and Lucan is expected to commence this year.
D5: A capital allocation of €4.9m is provided to Sport Ireland for the development of the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown. This allocation includes €2m for the completion of Phase 2 of the National Indoor Arena. Phase 2 comprises full-sized and half-sized covered synthetic pitches, primarily for soccer and rugby but capable of accommodating all field-sports, together with ancillary facilities. A further €2.9m is provided for general capital maintenance and minor projects at the National Sports Campus.
D6: A capital allocation of €1m is provided to Sport Ireland under Subhead D6 for the disbursement, on behalf of my Department, of Dormant Account Funding to sports measures which are aimed at providing support and interventions to persons from disadvantaged backgrounds and to persons with a disability. In previous years this funding has supported capital projects in such areas as outdoor adventure hubs, sports inclusion disability equipment and artificial turf pitches. It is understood that the Minister for Rural and Community Development will bring forward a new Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan in early 2019 and the specific sports measures to be funded this year will be proposed and decided in that context.
D7: The National Sports Policy, published on 25th July 2018, provided for a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) with at least €100 million available over the coming years. An amount of €8.8m has been provided in 2019. The fund was launched in November 2018 and is open to applications until 17th April 2019. The fund will initially focus on the requirements and development plans of National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Authorities. The specific projects that will receive funding will be dependent on the applications received.
