Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021
262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when capital sports grants are likely to be awarded and granted in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48348/21]
View answer264. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which her Department proposes to put special emphasis on local sporting and community organisations when considering the allocation of grants in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48350/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 262 and 264 together.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) 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. The Programme is specifically designed to assist local sports clubs, community groups and others to develop their facilities.
The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1st March 2021. By the closing date, over 3,100 applications were submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.
The scoring system and assessment procedures were published earlier this year, at www.gov.ie/en/publication/8c432-sports-capital-and-equipment-programme-2020-assessment-guide, and all applications are being assessed accordingly. The scoring system places a particular emphasis on the sharing of facilities and this is designed to ensure the facilities being funded benefit as many people in the community as possible. Other factors considered when scoring applications include whether the project will increase participation, whether the project serves an area of socio-economic disadvantage and whether the project has a focus on people with disabilities.
Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6m were announced on the 6th August. The remaining 2,000 approx. applications for capital works are now being assessed. Given the large number of applications received, this work is likely to take a number of months to complete with allocations expected to be announced before the end of this year.
