Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
538. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the amount of funding approved to a group (details supplied) from 2012 to date; what terms and conditions were attached to each funding approval, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36157/23]
View answerDetails of the funding received by this club under the Sports Capital Programme since 2012 are included below:
|
Scheme |
Details |
€ |
Status |
|
2012 Track Initiative |
Special allocations to 4 regional athletics tracks |
€400,000 |
Closed - Fully drawn down |
|
2017 Sports Capital Programme |
Heating/boiler, Refurbishment of dressing rooms/showers/toilets |
€29,000 |
Closed - Fully drawn down |
|
2020 Sports Capital & Equipment Programme |
Non-personal sports equipment |
€3,919 |
Grant Provisionally Allocated |
|
|
|
€432,919 |
|
Both the 2012 and 2017 grants have been fully drawn down and are now closed. The 2012 grant predates the existing electronic record management system and so the terms and conditions are not readily available. The terms and conditions for the 2017 and 2020 grants were included in correspondence which issued to the grantee at the time of provisional allocation, as per the existing electronic record management system, and are set out below.
2017 Requirements for Approval of Grant and Payment:
The grant provisionally allocated will not receive formal written approval, nor will any payments be made, until compliance with all relevant requirements and conditions as set out below.
All documentation necessary to receive formal approval must be uploaded via the Sports Capital Programme Portal www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie and found to be order.
The following requirements must be fully complied with.
Tenders/Quotations:
Grantees must show the Department that they are getting value for money. No contract should be signed nor any order placed nor any works begun for which a grantee will be claiming funding until the grantee receives approval from the Department.
To obtain approval the grantee must supply the Department with at least three comparable quotations for each aspect of the works being funded. To be comparable, quotations must be for identical works or equipment.
If the grantee wishes to choose a contractor/supplier other than the lowest price contractor/supplier the grantee’s technical supervisor must supply the Department with good reasons for choosing a more expensive contractor/supplier. Reasons such as the chosen contractor/supplier sponsoring the club or the contractor/supplier having supported the club in the past are not acceptable.
Gyms and Gym Equipment:
All gym and fitness centres must be developed to allow full access to people with disabilities. Further information regarding gym accessibility and inclusion can be obtained from CARA at www.caracentre.ie and additional information regarding dual use gym equipment can be found at www.efds.co.uk/how-we-help/programmes/ifi-fitness-equipment.
Tax Requirements:
A Tax Registration Number must be submitted to the Department for each supplier supplying goods worth €10,000 or more. The supplier must have current Tax Clearance at the date of any invoice submitted. The Department may check the current tax clearance status for suppliers at any time during the drawdown of the grant.
In relation to the grantee’s own organisation's tax requirements, the grantee must ensure that it has current Tax Clearance when applying for Formal Approval and at all points during the drawdown process.
Deeds of Covenant and Charge:
If the total value of sports capital grants made to the grantee exceeds €300,000, the grantee must execute a Deed of Covenant and Charge.
This Deed creates a charge over the property in favour of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport up to the value of the total of sports capital grants allocated to the grantee (including any Clár or RAPID top-ups under previous rounds of the Programme). The charge comes into effect in the event that, within 15 years, the property ceases to be used for the purposes for which the grant was awarded.
The grantee should immediately forward to the Department a letter from its solicitors confirming they are acting for the grantee in this matter and enclosing details of title on the property concerned. The Deed must be in place before payment of any part of the grant can be made.
Note that if the grantee has previously been allocated grants under the Sports Capital Programme since 2002 and a Deed of Covenant and Charge has already been executed, it will not be necessary to draw up a new Deed. Instead the CSSO, in consultation with the grantee’s solicitor, will add the value of this year's grant to the charge created for the previous grant(s). However, the grantee should ensure that its solicitor has registered any previous Deeds for sports capital grants with the Property Registration Authority (previously the Land Registry). Otherwise payment of the new allocation will be delayed until the registration of such Deeds has been completed.
The Department’s legal advisers, the Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO), prepare the Deed in consultation with the grantee’s solicitor, and a fee of €400 is payable by the grantee’s organisation as a contribution toward their services.
To avoid delays, the grantee must ensure that its title to the property where the facility is located is in order. If the property is held by trustees, it is essential that it is legally vested in the current trustees so the Deed can be put into effect and grant payments made to the grantee.
Departmental Technical Advisor Monitoring Role:
The Department's technical advisors have a monitoring role in relation to projects allocated grants of more than €300,000.
As the grantee’s grant allocation is €300,000 or less, the technical advisors will not normally have a role in relation to your project. However, if the grantee has previously been allocated funding of over €300,000 for this same project, and the technical advisors already have a monitoring role in relation to it, the Dept. will notify them of the grantee’s 2017 allocation.
If the grantee’s project involves construction work costing more than €300,000, the building contractors the grantee intends to use will have to secure a contract guarantee bond before the grantee can award them the contract.
Other Required Documents
To enable the Dept. to formally approve the grantee’s grant allocation, the grantee must have submitted the following documentation and the necessary procedures must be followed:
1) A copy of the final grant of planning permission if not supplied at application stage;
2) A copy of the drawings, specification or schedule of works prepared for tendering purposes.
Payment of Grants:
Grantees must pay for work prior to seeking reimbursement from the Department. Please note that the grantee must first incur expenses sufficient to draw down at least 20% of the total value of the grant or €2,000, whichever is the greater amount, on each occasion before requesting payment from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
NB: Only work carried out and invoices or payment certificates dated after the date of this letter will be considered for payment purposes.
The Department will pay grants in stages as projects proceed by reimbursing your costs when you upload to us via the Portal valid, paid invoices. If available, the grantee may also upload certificates of payment which have been certified by its technical supervisor (normally an architect or engineer). The Dept. can request invoices, in addition to certificates of payment, if deemed necessary.
Valid invoices must include the following information:
• Name and address of the trader issuing the invoice
• The trader’s VAT registration number
• The name and address of the customer
• The date of issue of the invoice
• The date of the supply of the goods or services
• A full description of the goods or services (it must be clear that the works are those for which the grant was allocated)
• The amount exclusive of VAT expressed in euro
• The rate (including zero rate) and amount of VAT at each rate
Proforma invoices are not acceptable. If the grantee is submitting certificates of payments these must be in the format set out by the grantee’s technical supervisor’s professional body and the grantee’s technical supervisor must be a member of a professional body (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Engineers Ireland etc.) The Department reserves the right to seek hard copy original invoices and bank statements.
All invoices and certificates of payment must be accompanied by a bank statement that clearly shows the money being paid to the contractor. The Department will reimburse the cost of the valid paid invoices/certificates of payment the grantee has paid at a rate of 95%.
So, for example, if the Department approves valid invoices submitted by a grantee to the value of €100,000, then this would result in a payment to the grantee of €95,000 (95%).
Retention:
An amount of 5% of the grant will be retained until the Dept. receives the following:
• Confirmation from the grantee’s technical supervisor that the project has been satisfactorily completed in all respects (this does not apply to grants allocated for sports equipment only or for capital allocations of €25,000 or less). If applicable, the Dept. must also have confirmation from the grantee’s technical supervisor that the Defects Liability Period for the project has ended.
• A photograph of the completed facility and of the prominently displayed sign stating that the project has been funded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and
• Confirmation from the grantee’s solicitor that the Deed of Covenant and Charge has been registered with the Property Registration Authority (if Deed of Covenant and Charge is required).
The timing of grant payments will be determined by the Department in the context of the funds available for expenditure under the Sports Capital Programme.
Sign Recognising Government Support:
The grantee should also note that all grant-assisted projects must display an acknowledgement sign showing that they are being assisted by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
How the Department monitors projects
• the grantee must retain all documentation relating to its project for a period of six years after the project is completed and
• representatives from the Department may also inspect the grantee’s facility at any time while it is being built and/or when it is finished.
Other Specifications
The grantee must make sure that the completed facility is managed and maintained properly. From time to time, the Dept. may ask the grantee to provide details of the facility and how it is being used.
If the grantee’s project involves construction, it must comply with the current Building Regulations and Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations.
The grantee must insure the completed facility against fire and all other insurable risks. The insurance should provide cover for the full reinstatement value of the facility and for professional fees. The grantee will also have to take out and maintain satisfactory public liability insurance to cover users and the general public.
The grantee must get planning permission, a fire safety certificate and commencement notice, if required. The grantee will need to pay any costs associated with these.
If the project will be assisted by Government-funded work schemes, the grantee must provide certificates to state that only labour is provided. The grantee must buy all materials from registered retailers and suppliers if the grantee wishes to receive funding under the Sports Capital Programme.
Voluntary labour can be used on local projects costing up to €50,000 where the grantee can demonstrate that this will result in a cost saving. In such cases, the Dept. will only pay out for the vouched cost of the materials used when we receive certification from the grantee’s architect or engineer that: those materials have been used on the project; the work has been satisfactorily completed; and the work was undertaken on a voluntary basis for no payment.
The Dept. may contribute towards professional fees (excluding the fee for the cost of the Deed of Covenant and Charge, if applicable) where a grant of more than €300,000 has been allocated.
If the grantee’s facility includes any type of fixed outdoor equipment or standardised installation, such as goalposts and 3G Pitches, the grantee should ensure that they comply with relevant national safety standards and where appropriate other applicable European standards.
2020 Requirements for Approval of Grant and Payment: Claremorris Athletics & Sports Club Ltd
The grant provisionally allocated will not receive formal written approval, nor will any payments be made, until compliance with all relevant requirements and conditions as set out below.
All documentation necessary to receive formal approval must be uploaded via the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme Portal www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie and found to be in order.
The following requirements must be fully complied with.
Tenders/Quotations:
Grantees must show the Department that they are getting value for money. No contract should be signed, nor any order placed, nor any works begun for which the grantee will be claiming funding until the grantee first receives approval from the Department.
To obtain approval the grantee must supply the Department with at least three comparable quotations for each aspect of the works being funded. To be comparable, quotations must be for identical equipment.
If the grantee wishes to choose a supplier other than the lowest price supplier, the grantee must supply the Department with good reasons for choosing a more expensive supplier. Reasons such as the chosen supplier sponsoring the club or the supplier having supported the club in the past are not acceptable.
Gyms and Gym Equipment:
All gyms and gym equipment must be accessible to people with disabilities. The Department has written a guide to accessible gym equipment - Guide to Accessible Gym Equipment . For more information, Cara - Sport Inclusion Ireland have created resource Factsheets (link is external) on how to make your sports facilities, equipment and activities more accessible to people with disabilities (this link is to an external website and the information and views are not those of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media).
Tax Requirements:
A Tax Registration Number must be submitted to the Department for each supplier supplying goods worth €10,000 or more. The supplier must have current Tax Clearance at the date of any invoice submitted. The Dept. may check the current tax clearance status for suppliers at any time during the drawdown of the grant.
In relation to the grantee’s tax requirements, the grantee must ensure that its organisation has current Tax Clearance when applying for Formal Approval and at all points during the drawdown process.
Declaration/Grant Agreement Form:
The grantee must complete and return to the Dept. a Declaration/Grant Agreement recognising and safeguarding the Department's financial interest in the grant-aided equipment. The Declaration must be witnessed and signed by a solicitor or commissioner for oaths, who will advise the grantee of the other required signatories. A copy of the Declaration/Grant Agreement forms to be completed may be downloaded from the Portal.
Payment of Grants:
Grantees must pay for equipment prior to seeking reimbursement from the Department. The grantee must first incur expenses sufficient to draw down at least 20% of the total value of the grant or €2,000, whichever is the greater amount, on each occasion before requesting payment from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. For grants of less than €2,000, payment should only be sought when expenses sufficient to draw down the full value of the grant have been incurred.
NB: Only equipment purchased and invoices dated after the date of this letter will be considered for payment purposes.
The Department will pay grants in stages as projects proceed by reimbursing the grantee’s costs when the grantee uploads to the Dept., via the Portal, valid, paid invoices. If available, the grantee may also upload certificates of payment which have been certified by its technical supervisor (normally an architect or engineer). The Dept. can request invoices, in addition to certificates of payment, if deemed necessary.
Valid invoices must include the following information:
• Name and address of the trader issuing the invoice
• The trader’s VAT registration number
• The name and address of the customer
• The date of issue of the invoice
• The date of the supply of the goods or services
• A full description of the goods or services (it must be clear that the works are those for which the grant was allocated)
• The amount exclusive of VAT expressed in euro
• The rate (including zero rate) and amount of VAT at each rate
Proforma invoices are not acceptable. The Department reserves the right to seek hard copy original invoices and bank statements.
All invoices and certificates of payment must be accompanied by a bank statement that clearly shows the money being paid to the contractor. The Department will reimburse the cost of the valid paid invoices/certificates of payment the grantee has paid at a rate of 95%. So, for example, if the Department approves valid invoices submitted by a grantee to the value of €100,000, then this would result in a payment to the grantee of €95,000 (95%). The rate of payment for Local Authority grants is 70%.
Sign Recognising Government Support:
The grantee should also note that all grant-assisted projects must display an acknowledgement sign showing that they are being assisted by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
How the Department monitors projects
• the grantee must retain all documentation relating to your project for a period of six years after the project is completed and
• representatives from the Department may also inspect the equipment at any time.
