Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022
312. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans for the next round of funding for the Sports Capital Fund; the date that the appeals for the projects will be processed by; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22807/22]
View answer319. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the outcomes of the appeals for the most recent round of Sports Capital Grants will be communicated to the applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23235/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 319 together.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefitted from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.1 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March 2021 and by the deadline a record 3,100 applications were submitted. Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6 million were announced on 6 August, 2021.
The remaining capital applications were then assessed and 1,865 individual grant offers with a total value of over €143.8 million were announced on Friday 11 February 2022. This represented the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP.
Unsuccessful applicants were invited to appeal the Department's decision. The deadline for submission of appeals was Monday 4 April and 146 appeals were received. Of the record €150 million made available for capital projects, €6 million has been kept in reserve for any successful appeals. The preliminary assessment of all appeals has now been complete and it is hoped to announce consequent allocations shortly.
Once the appeal process is complete, a full review of the 2020 round of the SCEP will be undertaken and recommendations arising will be reflected 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 complete.
