Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
312. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the degree to which she continues to acknowledge the sporting and recreational needs in all the towns throughout Kildare north given the burgeoning population and the need extra facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56250/23]
View answerThe Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) has transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town and city in the country. Over 13,000 projects have now 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 the investment in disadvantaged areas.
After each round of the Programme, a review is undertaken to identify any changes required to further improve the scheme. The 2020 Review was published earlier this year and provides a comprehensive look at all aspects of the 2020 round, including statistical data on how the funding was allocated.
Among the recommendations contained in the Review was a continued prioritisation of projects that share facilities with other sports and further enhanced investment in areas of disadvantage. The Review also identified new areas for focus including, inter alia, the need to prioritise applications from areas witnessing significant population growth. The level of existing facilities in an area will continue to be a factor when scoring applications under the 2023 round with areas lacking in sufficient sports facilities being prioritised.
Those areas of focus were reflected in the published Guide to Making an Application for the 2023 round. Work is now underway on finalising the "Scoring System and Assessment Manual" for the 2023 round and I hope to have this published shortly. Simultaneously, I also plan to publish the full list of all applications received by county including the relevant sport type for each application received. Once these documents are published, the detailed assessment work can commence.
