Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 January 2023
12. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the next round of sports capital funding will be announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3062/23]
View answer31. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the awards for the sports capital scheme will be announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2859/23]
View answer39. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the review of the sports grant will be complete; and when the next round of applications will be opened for same. [3550/23]
View answer51. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the sports capital grants programme will be reopened for applications; the proposed timetable for the processing of these applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3611/23]
View answer54. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she has details on future plans for the sports capital funding; if she will provide a timeline if possible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3617/23]
View answer73. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will address the current status of opening of the next round of the sports capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2738/23]
View answer75. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the expected timeline for the opening of the next round of the sports capital grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3507/23]
View answerThere is always great excitement and anticipation on the announcement of the sports capital grants. The Minister of State will know well how much these grants mean to the sports clubs up and down the country. I think every Member in the House is aware of it. The volunteers who keep those clubs running extract huge value out of every euro that comes in those grants. When can we expect the next round of sports capital funding to be announced?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 31, 39, 51, 54, 73 and 75 together.
As the Deputies are aware, 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 benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 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 in March 2021 and by the deadline 3,106 applications were submitted. Approximately 1,000 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 in 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 11 February 2022.
Unsuccessful applicants were able to appeal the Department's decision and 146 appeals were received. Consequent allocations on foot of successful appeals amounting to €6.14 million. It is always important to look at the avenue for appeal whenever this comes up. The total allocation of €166.6 million is the highest ever. Details of all allocations can be found on the Department's website. The Deputy will know of projects in his own constituency. The priority is to advance the successful applications to the formal approval stage. Much engagement is ongoing and work with the Department.
A full review has been undertaken by the Department of the 2020 round. A draft of the review has now been completed. I have looked at is as has the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. We should be in a position to publish this review shortly and recommendations arising from it will be reflected in the next round. Officials are engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of the next round and I have had discussions with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. Once this process is concluded, I will announce the exact dates from which new applications will be accepted. The timeframe will depend on the volume of applications. It is a really good scheme, which we all know and love. I am hopeful that the discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will conclude shortly so that we can get the next round under way.
That is considerable funding that we put into it. It shows that we all acknowledge the value of sports for well-being in our community and what it does for communities. I have had the opportunity to work with a number of the clubs that did receive funding in the last year or two and to assist in the appeals process, which is an important thing to stress. Lacken-Kilbride GAA Club got substantial funding and Greystones Lawn Tennis Club, Sea Scouts and a range of community activities also benefited.
Could we also look at a type of sports campus funding where we bring all the sporting clubs together in the community rather than having separate fields designated for rugby, football or GAA? We would get a much better return for the community out of it. One that I am looking at in particular is down in west Wicklow where we are working on a pool for the area. We have a pool in Bray, Greystones, Arklow and Wicklow town but there is nothing once you go to the other side of the mountains. A whole sports campus in west Wicklow is something that we should look at bringing in where it would have running tracks, changing rooms and football pitches for Blessington Football Club etc. That is something that we could also look at in the sports grants.
I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment and wish him well. The sports capital grant programme is well supported and much anticipated in County Clare. Last year Clare got €4.6 million and 69 clubs benefited from it. I am receiving queries from clubs which are anticipating the announcement of a new date for applications. I encourage the Minister of State to move the process along as quickly as he can. Can he give more detail on a timeframe for when this will happen and give an indication of how much he hopes to make available? Will it be as much as last year?
The sports capital grant scheme is clearly very important but we need to move away from it. We need a sports facility strategy, which ensures that funding delivers resources to where they are needed when they are needed rather than being awarded following good political lobbying. Very often, you find that the big, almost professional clubs, which are well resourced and have very deep pockets have the expertise or can afford the expertise to ensure that their application gets over the line. It is not a coincidence that the sports capital grants deliver for affluent areas rather than disadvantaged areas. The scheme ensures that there is some accommodation for that but we need to move away from the capital grant scheme and put in a sports facility strategy.
I completely reject the Sinn Féin proposal to move away from the sports capital programme. We will not do that. We will stick with it and we will be prioritising disadvantaged areas. That is what we are doing and that is what the sports capital programme has always done. Areas of disadvantage are awarded higher marks under the scheme. There will be a transparent marking scheme and people will know what these projects are judged on. Disadvantage is probably the strongest criterion. Women in sport is really important too and inclusion will also be important. The sports clubs will have to consider all those things.
Clubs that I know are doing their work at the moment to get ready. There is significant support available from the Department. It is probably the most open Department in terms of getting information from it. Local sports partnerships in local areas also give support in places like Clare and Wicklow. The national governing bodies are also there to give support.
And Kildare.
They are also in Kildare. I am addressing the areas where Deputies spoke on this particular question but it is important in every county. We want to help the national governing bodies to help the sporting bodies in the areas and that includes all of them. I have had discussions with some of the national governing bodies on that as well.
I agree. I think that sports capital grant schemes is one of the best grant schemes that we have through government. A great many clubs have benefited from it across the country. It is a very fair and equitable scheme. Clubs benefit where we get to engage with them, advise them and we learn the lessons from applications that were not successful.
I am working on a particular one in west Wicklow, which is the subject of Question No. 22 on sports capital grants which we will not reach. Crossing the mountains in Wicklow one reaches west Wicklow an area where people always consider they do not get as much as in the east. I would be eager to look a sports facility, swimming pool and running track, as well as sports pitches for Blessington Football Club. People need to go to Sallins, Naas or Tallaght to find a swimming pool. The area merits it and I hope that application can be considered favourably.
Does the Minister of State anticipate that the budget for the forthcoming programme will be similar to that of the last programme? It was a record budget the last time and 69 clubs in Clare benefited to the tune of €4.6 million. Spending more on sport gives much more back. It is not just about physical well-being; mental health also benefits from an injection in sports facilities. I ask the Minister of State to give his view on that. How much money has he sought? Will it compare favourably with last year?
It is interesting to hear the Minister of State reject the idea of a national sports facility strategy given that the Government has already done considerable work in developing national sports facilities. In the past it gave a commitment to develop a sports facility strategy. It is not a coincidence that when a particular Minister of State with responsibility for sport is in situ, his or her constituency tends to get greater funding for sports facilities. That does not apply so much currently, but it is something that happened in the past. Having a national sports facility strategy would ensure that would not happen again. It is important to address that.
I acknowledge the Minister of State's reference to Kildare North, which is his neighbouring constituency. I ask him to keep it in mind because of the rapidly increasing population and the demand that follows that in terms of sports capital grants, equipment grants and swimming pools, on which we were unfortunate in the past. I ask the Minister of State to look favourably on his next-door neighbours in this situation, in which he also has an interest.
I do not reject a sports facility strategy; I rejected Deputy Andrews's proposal to move away from a sports capital programme.
It is possible to have both.
What he said about the Minister of State's constituency is not true. Every constituency did better in the last sports capital allocation.
Nobody is disputing that.
The Government is committed to doing that with priority for inclusion and disadvantage and we will continue with that.
Regarding Deputy Carey's point, discussions are ongoing. Massive ambition has been shown by voluntary clubs throughout the country. These are not professional clubs, as Sinn Féin has alleged. Voluntary clubs in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of cities and everywhere benefited from sports capital grants, and Clare is no exception. I will be working with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to maximise that budget.
Deputy Matthews spoke about swimming pools. There is a national swimming strategy under review and I will be in correspondence with him about that. I share his ambition to bring swimming to every part of the country, including in his constituency.
Deputy Durkan might know that my granny got married in the little chapel in Kilcock, which is in the Meath East constituency. The Kildare North constituency is very important to me because many of my constituents take part in sports in that constituency. It is not just our constituencies that will benefit; it is every constituency in the country. We need to help and champion everyone who wants to take part in sports. We need to help these communities in cities, towns and rural areas to benefit from this because we know the importance of sports. This summer will be a wonderful time for sport in the country. Throughout the year there are major sporting events. The themes need to be inclusion and increased participation, and to ensure the facilities Deputy Andrews mentioned are in place. We will also work with local authorities and national governing bodies on that.
