Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 September 2022
58. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when she expects the review into the large-scale sports infrastructure fund to be completed; the timeframe to reopen the fund once it has been received; and the process Monaghan County Council will have to engage in following the review in order to secure funding to provide a public swimming pool in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. [46981/22]
View answerPreviously, Government support for new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools was provided through the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP). 52 pools have been completed under the LASPP and 3 swimming pool projects remain in the programme.
In relation to funding support for new pool projects, the National Sports Policy was published in 2018 and provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The National Development Plan provided a capital allocation of at least €100 million for the Fund over the period to 2027.
It was open to all local authorities and National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to apply for funding. All applications were assessed in accordance with the published Evaluation Procedures and Guidelines and the published scoring system. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and, thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. These initial allocations included funding for 8 swimming pool projects under Stream 2 of the LSSIF all of which are now at various stages of the due diligence process in keeping with the public spending code.
In relation to any future LSSIF funding, my Department is currently undertaking a review of progress on all existing LSSIF grants. As part of this review, my Department is also considering the timing of any new call for proposals. The review work is at an advanced stage and is expected to be finalised shortly.
Furthermore, the National Sports Policy commits to the development of a National Swimming Strategy. As part of this, there will be a review of swimming pool provision to identify where gaps exist and how these can be met. A working group has been established and is meeting on a regular basis with a view to drafting the new Strategy.
The outcome of the LSSIF Review and the National Swimming Strategy will be important considerations when deciding how funding will be provided for any new swimming pool proposals.
