Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
40. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if there are Department funds or help available specifically for provision of swimming pools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6875/24]
View answerThe National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the LSSIF is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP).
The first call for proposals under the LSSIF closed in 2019 with new swimming pool projects and the refurbishment of existing swimming pools eligible to apply for LSSIF grant funding subject to published guidelines and regulations. The first LSSIF allocations were announced in January 2020 and thus far €124 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals including 8 swimming pool projects.
Minister Martin and I recently confirmed that a new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the first half of 2024, with the dates, terms and conditions to be published in due course. I would encourage all eligible projects to consider applying for this competitive application process when it opens later this year.
