Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2019
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for investment in vital recreational infrastructure for local communities such as swimming pools, community centres and other sporting facilities; the extent to which recent budgetary allocations are sufficient to meet demand in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6717/19]
View answerThe Sports Capital Programme (SCP) 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. Under the 2017 round of the programme €62m was allocated to 1,837 sporting projects and my officials continue to assist these grantees in completing their projects and draw down their grants.
Sanction was received last year from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to open a new round of the Programme with allocations of up to €40m. This new round opened for applications on Friday 7 September and the application period closed on Friday 19th October. By that deadline, a record 2,337 applications were submitted seeking a total of €162m in funding.
186 of these applications were for projects deemed invalid under the 2017 round of the programme but who subsequently submitted corrected documents. These applications were assessed first and approximately €7m in allocations to 170 projects were announced on the 17th January.
In relation to new applications, for the first time applicants who have submitted incorrect documentation under this round will be given the opportunity to correct their application during the assessment period. While there will be no undue delay in completing the assessment process, in view of the opportunity to correct documentation, the record number of applications received and the detailed information contained in each application, it is likely to take a number of months to have all applications assessed. Accordingly, I expect that it will be at least the second quarter of this year before the full set of allocations under this current round of the programme are announced. Sufficient resources are available this year to cover all existing commitments under the programme in addition to the new allocations.
With regard to swimming pools, the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP), as operated by my Department, provides grant aid to local authorities towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. To date 51 pools have been completed and four swimming pool projects remain in the current LASPP. The priority this year is on advancing these four projects and sufficient resources are available to cover these commitments.
In relation to the future funding of swimming pools and other larger projects, the National Development Plan confirmed the establishment of a new Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) with at least €100m available over the coming years. The new scheme opened for applications on 19th November and the closing date for applications is the 17th April 2019. Full details of the scheme and application forms are available on my Department's website at http://www.dttas.ie/sport/english/large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif. The aim of the fund is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the SCP. Initially, the scheme has a particular focus on National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Authorities. Swimming pool projects will also be considered.
