Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
224. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if organisations that applied for stream 1 funding under the large scale sports infrastructure fund remain eligible for stream 2 funding even if their stream 2 funding applications were not submitted before the initial closing date of 17 April 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27290/21]
View answerThe National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The National Development Plan provided a capital allocation of at least €100m over the period to 2027 for the Fund. The aim of the fund is to provide exchequer support for larger sports facility projects with at least €100m being made available over the period to 2027. The first call for proposals opened for applications on 19th November 2018 and closed on 17th April 2019.
Approximately €86.4m of this allocation has already been awarded to 33 proposals and the priority in the short term is on advancing these projects. While it is not proposed to open the LSSIF for new applications at present, my Department is undertaking a review of the LSSIF which is expected to be complete in the coming months. This review will consider, inter alia, progress on all existing grants and whether any additional grants should be awarded including to previously unsuccessful applications. The timing of any new call for proposals will also be considered. Any new allocations or a new call for proposals, whether Stream 1 or 2, will be dependent on receiving additional funding for the LSSIF following the completion of the review of the National Development Plan.
