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Sports Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022

Thursday, 24 February 2022

Questions (6, 9, 16, 21, 47, 49, 52, 61, 65, 68, 70)

Alan Dillon

Question:

6. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the plans and a likely timeline for the next round of a sports and equipment capital programme; when it is likely to open to new applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10456/22]

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Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

9. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of applications that were submitted for sports capital grants in County Louth for the latest round of funding; the total number that were awarded funding; the way the funding that has been set aside for the sports capital programme appeals process will be implemented; the expected timeline for the appeals process to last; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10372/22]

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James O'Connor

Question:

16. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans to allocate the funding for the approved projects under the 2022 sports capital grants; if there is a timeline available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10507/22]

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Alan Farrell

Question:

21. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the detail of the appeals process for the sports capital and equipment programme; the amount of funding that will be set aside for successful appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10334/22]

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Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Question:

47. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of unsuccessful applications that were made for the recently announced sports capital and equipment programme; and the amount that has been set aside to cover potential successful appeals. [10150/22]

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Jennifer Whitmore

Question:

49. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the process involved in allocating funding from the sports capital and equipment programme grants; the recourse available for unsuccessful groups to appeal a decision made by her Department in relation to the sports capital grants; the future funding opportunities that are available to those who were unsuccessful at this time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9885/22]

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James O'Connor

Question:

52. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when her Department will make a decision on sports capital and equipment programme grants applications that have been appealed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10508/22]

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Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Question:

61. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status and process of assessment for sports capital and equipment programme grants that were invalid or incomplete; when sports clubs can appeal their grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10309/22]

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Kieran O'Donnell

Question:

65. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an overview of the sports capital and equipment programme appeals process; the timelines involved for sports clubs and organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10333/22]

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David Stanton

Question:

68. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her Department has set aside funding for successful appeal applications to the recent sports capital and equipment programme announcement; if so, the amount of such funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10404/22]

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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

Question:

70. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the process in place for sports capital and equipment programme appeals; the length of time the applicant has to make an appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10152/22]

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Oral answers (26 contributions)

Many sporting clubs and organisations were not in a position to apply for the 2020 sports capital and equipment programme. We need some clarity around the timing of the next round of the sports capital and equipment programme to ensure clubs and organisations can start their preparation in good time.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 9, 16, 21, 47, 49, 52, 61, 65, 68 and 70 together.

The sports capital and equipment programme is the primary vehicle for the Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and for the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. More than 13,000 projects have now benefited from the sports capital and equipment programme since 1998, bringing the total allocation to more than €1.1 billion. The programme for Government commits to continuing the sports capital and equipment programme and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.

The 2020 round closed for applications on 1 March 2021. By that date in excess 3,000 applications had been submitted, seeking more than €200 million in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received. The scoring system and assessment procedures were finalised and published prior to assessment work commencing. All applications were assessed in accordance with these procedures. All of the improvements that were introduced to recent rounds of the programme to make the process as user-friendly as possible were maintained for this round. These included giving applicants a second chance to submit corrected documentation. The full scoring system can be viewed on the sports capital website.

Approximately 1,000 of the submitted applications were for equipment-only projects. These applications were assessed first. Grants with a total value of €16.6 million were announced on 6 August 2021. The remaining capital applications were then assessed and 1,865 grant offers, with total value in excess of €143.8 million, were announced in the last two weeks on Friday, 11 February 2022. As with recent rounds of the programme, the total funding available to allocate for each county was based on the population and the level of demand for that county. The top scoring applications in every county received the full, valid amount applied for. The remaining applications were allocated a grant that was based on their score and the amount sought, while applications in the bottom scoring 5% of applications in any county received no more than 75% of the amount sought. Details of all applications that were submitted in the 2020 round can be viewed on gov.ie.

All valid capital applications received a grant offer. All allocations can also be viewed on a county basis on the same site. My Department will shortly be in touch with all successful applicants via the Department's online system, OSCAR, formally notifying them of their provisional grant application. These notifications will set out the next steps required to obtain formal approval of their grant. When work is complete and grantees can show proof of payment, my Department will then process any grant drawdown requests.

My Department will also be in contact with all applicants whose applications were deemed invalid. There are currently 243 such invalid capital applications. All unsuccessful applicants will have the opportunity to appeal the Department's decision. Full details of the appeals procedure will issue to these organisations very shortly. Of the record €150 million made available to capital projects, €6 million has been kept in reserve for any successful appeals lodged by unsuccessful applicants. When the appeals process is complete, a full review of the 2020 round of the sports capital and equipment programme will be undertaken. Any recommendations contained therein will be included in the terms and conditions of the next round. The precise timing of this next round of the programme will be announced once this review is completed.

We have six speakers, so I ask them to co-operate with the time limits.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The sports capital and equipment programme funding to local communities is without doubt one of the best investments we can make in our communities. I commend the Minister of State on the recent announcement of the €150 million national pot. It has an enormous impact throughout the country. I acknowledge the Minister of State’s Department and the team in terms of how this was administered.

The full review of the 2020 round should be undertaken in a time-limited manner to ensure any of these recommendations contained will be included in the next round. We want clarity around the timing of the next round. That is very important. It is equally fair to provide some information to those standing on the sidelines, wondering when they will get the next opportunity to start working on their applications. If we could possibly get a provisional timeline rather than any details around the next one, that would be useful.

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their generous sports capital programme. On behalf of the 58 clubs in my constituency, I would like to say “Thank you”. Of course, there are a number who, as my colleague has outlined, were either unable to apply or who were unsuccessful. It is important we outline to them at this point, which is the root of my question, what level of funding has been set aside for appeals, as has been the case in prior years. As Deputy Dillon has outlined, this process started pre-pandemic. While the Department has been incredibly generous in its ability to come up with €150 million, clearly there will be demands by various clubs and organisations throughout the country in the coming months, to which I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in particular would like to be responsive. I hope there will be a second phase or an extra capital programme.

First, I would like to say how grateful we are for the support we have received from the Department. I thank the Minister and, in particular, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, for visiting the constituency.

In terms of this particular grant funding, many clubs are now asking about what the plan of the Department will be. I would very much appreciate it if both the Minister and the Minister of State would be able to provide us with some detail on timelines for the funding to be allocated as well as the process that would entail.

Again, I would like to say how much of a positive development it was. It was very welcome. It is very much one of the more community-based initiatives the Government has undertaken and it has done so very successfully. I want to outline my appreciation for the €1.9 million in funding my constituency received. I am also very hopeful about the appeals process that there would be significant funding set aside for any clubs that may have made an error in their application during the appeals process.

I join the other Members in what they have said about the next phase of this process. I would also ask if we have a vision into the future so that we could front-load funding for local authorities. I believe that, in certain circumstances, there are clubs that have expertise within them, perhaps those who have greater education or that have planning experts, engineers, barristers, teachers or whoever on their sporting committees, and there those other sporting clubs that do not have that level of expertise, and this second group can fall through the gaps during funding process. Is it not better as a long-term strategy for the Government to support local authorities to have an audit of the sporting needs in any geographical area and for them to have municipal sporting facilities so that all sporting bodies can benefit from them, rather than having these competing interests within any one geographical area?

The thrust of my question was slightly different than the initial question that was posed by Deputy Dillon. However, the Minister of State captured it in his answer. It was to ask about the status and process of assessment of sports capital grant applications that were invalid or incomplete. It is important, as Deputy Ó Ríordáin outlined, that those clubs that do not have that backroom team with that level of skill can get another opportunity to make sure they have maximised their application in terms of outlining the impact they make within their communities.

Sports capital funding is so impactful within communities. In County Waterford, there was a similar announcement in respect of the active travel funding. The sums were about €24 million in both cases. Sports capital funding, however, is so much more relatable to communities and people understand it much better. It makes a tangible difference from the bottom up, so I hope people will get another bite at the cherry.

In Limerick and north County Tipperary, more than 100 clubs and organisations got sports capital funding. It is a very good measure and there has been a significant increase on previous years. In the appeals process, there will be some clubs and sporting organisations that are deemed invalid because the type of application they put forward is not covered under the scheme, and there will be others that are invalid because they have not submitted the correct documentation. There is a major distinction. Will the Minister of State expedite the process? We need some indication as to when the appeals process will get under way. It is very important. Many of the clubs will probably be able to get the documentation together and resubmit it. Will the Minister of State clarify whether €6 million has been set aside that could be claimed under this appeals process?

Will the Minister of State pass on to his team in the Department how grateful people are for how they were treated so professionally, respectfully and helpfully?

On the question regarding the appeals, as my colleagues have said there are people who have invalid applications and so on. Can those clubs and organisations that did not get their full ask appeal as well? In some instances, the categories are such that it is not possible for the clubs to tick the box and gain that set of points. Will the Minister of State re-examine that for future years?

I thank Deputy Dillon in the first instance. Communities throughout County Mayo have responded to the programme and I acknowledge his input in that regard. As in all previous rounds, a review will be undertaken. We will take the learnings from this round, and once that has concluded, we will be able to provide a specific timeline. I do not want to mislead people about whether the process will open in a particular month or on a certain date. The programme for Government is clear that we are committed to running regular rounds of the sports capital and equipment programme. We have completed one round and we will provide a timeline for the next round when the review has concluded. The priority for now remains the round before us, given the appeals process has not concluded.

I acknowledge Deputy Farrell's points and the 58 clubs in Fingal that have benefited from the programme. A total of €6 million is available for appeals by unsuccessful applicants or applicants whose applications were deemed invalid. They will have an opportunity to respond in that regard.

Deputy O'Connor referred to €1.9 million in funding for his constituency. All clubs will soon receive communication on the exact process for how they can draw down the provisional grant offer. It will set out what they will have to do to get the full grant allocations. They will be written to shortly and that will kick off the drawdown. We will, I hope, see many projects happen this year. We want to get drawdown happening quickly.

On Deputy Ó Ríordáin's point, many local authorities have benefited this time. In Dublin, many clubs have partnered with local authorities and got significant grant allocations. For example, Bohemian Football Club partnered with Dublin City University. There are many other examples throughout the country where clubs partnered with institutions to maximise the sharing of facilities and the community benefit. That municipal approach is important to strengthen sports infrastructure for our communities. We are currently conducting an exercise with Sport Ireland in which we are mapping every recreational facility in every community in the country, which will show the geographical and community deficits that exist. It will underpin future, focused investment in sport. There are areas where that level of investment does not exist or where communities have not been able to apply, and that will inform a future approach.

I acknowledge Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's points about the benefits for County Waterford and the importance of a bottom-up approach. The appeals system will be outlined shortly.

To respond to Deputy O'Donnell, applicants with invalid or unsuccessful applications will be able to appeal. A full €6 million has been set aside. The Minister and I will finalise the appeals process this week and early next week. I hope the process will be able to commence in March and there will then be a window for all clubs to make an appeal and be assessed quickly. It will not be a drawn-out process.

I will convey Deputy Stanton's feedback to the officials. When we publish the formal appeals system, it will give clubs the opportunity to see where they fall in that context. It will be-----

I apologise for interrupting but the Minister of State will have an opportunity to conclude. We have gone way over time.

I am conscious that in the current round, there remains work to be completed regarding the formal notifications appeals process and the subsequent review of the 2020 programme. I am conscious the Department is working towards drawdowns for successful applications. In fact, I was in contact with the Minister of State's office in respect of even the 2015 awardees. In 2018 and 2022, there were announcements regarding the sports capital programme, so there was a four-year cycle in between. That is a long period for sporting organisations and clubs to have to wait to access vital funding. I would prefer there to be a two-year cycle, meaning the next awardees would be announced in 2024, with the applications opening in early 2023.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. My constituency, Dublin Fingal, has very distinct identities, individual communities and farmland, predominantly, in between. With those distinct identities come distinct rivalries, which is why those communities have looked carefully at the allocation of each sports capital funding round that has occurred over the past decade or so. I circulated some figures directly to the Minister of State at the time of the last round, as he will recall, regarding sporting code analysis. That is something we should bear in mind, not least in light of the statement he made regarding the analysis the Department is carrying out, which I fundamentally welcome because it is the right thing to do.

Having said that, it is important that clubs be given the opportunity to reapply, particularly in light of what Deputy Dillon quite correctly pointed out. The cycle has been extended, primarily because of Covid. I would like to see some commitments given in respect of the next round and what it might look like.

The appeals process is a delicate matter for many clubs and the status of appeals will depend on the nature of the errors in the applications that need to be amended. Obviously, some clubs made very minor amendments, many of them relating to appendices 4 or 5, as the Minister of State will be aware. I ask that a strong degree of leniency be given to enable them to resolve those issues. One example with which the Minister of State will be familiar relates to Fermoy GAA's application, on which we are working hard. It is a major sporting club servicing a huge area and population base. I ask for the Minister of State's support in respect of an extension of a lease from the OPW on the grounds the club occupies. Similarly, Shanballymore GAA faces an appendix 5 issue. I ask directly for the Minister of State's assistance in that regard too and am hopeful a sufficient degree of finance will be provided for the appeals process.

I am greatly encouraged by the Minister of State's response. The vision the Minister of State is outlining is something that I really welcome. The possibility that we will have an audit of the sporting needs of any given community, and that the local authority will be the driver for that, is something that will be welcome. I look forward to working with the Minister of State on it.

We would not want to see a particular sporting code or sporting pursuit fall by the wayside or fall through the cracks because some other sporting pursuit possibly has more muscle or more educated people behind its applications. I hope I am using appropriate language. I take great encouragement from what the Minister of State has outlined and I look forward to working with him on it into the future.

In my initial enthusiasm, I may have misplaced the decimal point in my first contribution.

In the next round, we should consider looking at issues of sustainability in the applications. The Minister of State might say that of course I would say that, but if we manage to turn around an energy line within a club in terms of funding, if we turn that from an outgoing to an incoming, that means they will have more money to spend on their pitches, equipment and community-building facets and, of course, it will help us to meet our climate goals. It is something we should be looking at. If a club is putting in floodlights or if it currently has floodlights, we should consider how can we move that to a lower-energy light-emitting diode, LED, system. We should look at whether clubs can put solar panels on their roofs in order that the heating of water happens through the power of sunlight rather than affecting their bottom line. That would allow them to spend their money on so many other things.

It is good to hear that the appeals process is getting under way in March. It will be welcomed. I have a few quick follow-on questions regarding that process. There has been inflation in the cost of materials. Following on from Deputy Stanton's point, will the Minister of State allow clubs to appeal to get an increase in the amount they have been allocated?

Following on from that, the next round of sports capital funding could be very significant. If it is returning to an annual basis, clubs that received insufficient allocations this year could go for phase 2 next year. That is something that needs to be looked at.

I welcome the appeals process getting under way in March. Will the Minister of State allow clubs in Limerick to appeal based on the allocation they have got to date if they believe they should have got a higher allocation? It would be extremely important at that time if the Minister of State could announce when the next round of sports capital grants will take place. That would allow clubs to plan, maybe for phase 2, to ensure they get adequate funding for an overall project.

The Minister of State did not get an opportunity to answer the question I asked earlier. If clubs want an increase in what they received, is that possible through the appeals process? If a club in that category submits an appeal, can I take it that there is no danger of it having a reduction in the amount it recently received?

I join my colleague, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh, who spoke about energy, green energy, insulation and different ways of producing energy, etc., for clubs. Many clubs are really interested in that and would welcome any supports that could be provided through this and other grants.

I thank the Minister of State for the sports capital grant in Carlow, and particularly for St. Leo's College. The Minister of State gave his commitment to women in sport and they got their full grant of €300,000.

On the appeals process, I have written to the Department. There are three clubs in Carlow that had originally been requested to provide further information and they did not get the grant. Will the Minister of State contact them or do they have to contact the Department? Communication is key here to ensure they get the grant now with the appeals process. I welcome the €6 million that is there, but I would be grateful if the Minister of State could contact the clubs and let them know about the appeals process.

There is an overall time limit for this group of questions and I am told we are out of time. The Minister of State could take one minute. I am sorry about that. There is an overall time limit and given the number of speakers, we have gone way over time on this issue.

I do not need an answer. I am okay.

I will allow the Minister of State to speak but it is by way of exception because we have gone way over time.

I will try to respond quickly. A couple of key questions have been asked.

I repeat that we will conclude the review and we will then provide clarity on when the next round will be announced.

The appeals process will be published shortly. Unsuccessful or invalid applicants will obviously be able to appeal. It will be a broader appeals system than before. The previous appeals system was based on a mistake that the Department may have made. It would be a broader appeals system compared to the previous round.

Different Deputies have mentioned specific issues. I have said that there will be opportunities for clubs to appeal. We will publish that. It is better that I publish it, but I will say that it will be a broader system than before.

On Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's point, many clubs promoted that sustainability piece in this round, for example to convert to LED lights and to make significant energy savings. If you look across the country, you will see that there have been a considerable number of successful applicants for that. I take the Deputy's point there as well.

Successful applicants will get the drawdown information quickly. Clubs that want to appeal will also be communicated with. That will be published online. They will have an opportunity shortly to have that window to appeal.

We are way over time. We have given it good time.

It will be a broader system than before.

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