Vol. 487 No. 1
27 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications from capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3423/98].
28 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the plans, if any, he has to ensure the availability of adequate sporting and recreation facilities for communities throughout the country, with particular reference to providing for indoor and outdoor pursuits, both passive and active; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3453/98]
30 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the plans, if any, he has to make allocations from lottery funds to sporting organisations in 1998 based on 1997 applications having regard to his ban on all new applications which are subject to review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3310/98]
35 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications for capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3420/98]
41 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications for capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3425/98]
46 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications for capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3424/98]
47 Mr. Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications for capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3422/98]
60 Mr. McGahon asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on his recent decision not to accept further applications for capital grants from sporting and community groups after 11 February 1988. [3421/98]
74 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation when he will announce the allocation of lottery funds under the aegis of his Department to local sporting organisations throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3307/98]
128 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation whether he is inviting applications for grant aid from the proceeds of the national lottery from the various sporting and recreational groups throughout the country in 1998; if he will be in a position to make a positive response to these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3608/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 28, 30, 35, 41, 46, 47, 60, 74 and 128 together. The sports capital programme provides national lottery funding towards the provision of sports facilities at national, regional and local level. It is the primary vehicle for promoting the development of sport and recreational facilities in Ireland and comprises the major facilities and the recreational facilities schemes. The major facilities scheme is a capital programme for major sports facilities and the recreational facilities scheme assists voluntary and community organisations in providing, improving and equipping recreational, leisure and community facilities.
There is a provision of £9 million in this year's Estimates for my Department for grant expenditure under the capital programme compared with the £5 million provided in 1997. At the end of 1997 overall capital commitments outstanding under the sports capital programme amounted to £15.7 million to be met in 1998 and subsequent years on satisfactory completion of projects in accordance with current terms and conditions of the programme. In addition, there were some 1,100 grant applications on hand at the end of 1997 on which a decision, even regarding matters such as eligibility had not yet been given, some dating back as early as 1994. Against that background I considered it a priority to have completed an examination of all applications currently on hand, including those received up to 5 p.m. today, to be considered in the context of the 1998 round of allocations.
When the assessment and allocation of funding to existing applications under the programme has been completed, I have asked my Department to also initiate a comprehensive review of the operation of the sports capital programme. That review will be undertaken in the context of the formulation of policy for sport and recreation, in line with the commitments in the Government's Action Programme for the Millennium, including the proposed establishment of a statutory Sports Council. It will involve examination of the objectives, terms of reference and criteria for the scheme and will have regard to the emphasis in the Action Programme for the Millennium on the role of sport and recreation in combating disadvantage. I expect the review to be completed later this year and when it is details of revised schemes will be widely publicised. It will then be open to clubs and organisations to apply for funding under the new schemes. The arrangements for the new schemes will have regard to the Government's commitment to provide a quality customer service.
Is the Minister aware there is a sense of panic among those at grassroots level in many organisations throughout the country at his announcement that he was putting a moratorium on grant applications? Will he give an assurance in the context of the national strategy for sport published in February 1997, which I am glad the Minister is pursuing because it is an apolitical document on which all parties were consulted, that the strong spirit of volunteerism in sport will be reflected in any new arrangement he puts in place? Will he fulfil his promise to allocate a greater percentage of national lottery funding to sport and that the allocation of those moneys will reflect the great volunteer movement in sport and recreation? Will he ensure there will not be too much of an obsession with grandiose projects which may give great credit to the Minister to ensure there will be no risk to the spirit and great efforts of people doing real work at grassroots level whether in parishes, teams or local communities?
I reassure the Deputy that is exactly what I am trying to do. However, in May 1997 the Deputy when Minister of State threw out taxpayers' money like snuff at a wake, which turned out to be exactly that because it did not result in his party being returned to office. A total of 515 projects were sanctioned this year at a cost of £8.963 million. Latest figures indicate there are more than 1,200 projects in the pipeline in addition to £16 million in respect of commitments given which I am legally bound to honour if they fall due. While an allocation of £5 million in this area was given in l997, I secured an allocation of £9 million in 1998. I could promise £10 million in respect of commitments, but what would be the point? I am trying to introduce some organisation to this area.
We faced a number of problems as some of the schemes date back to 1988. Local community groups approached their TDs, Senators and public representatives and worked hard to secure grants, but many of those clubs and small organisations rested on their laurels because many applications, some dating back to 1994, did not proceed. They appear to have postponed projects until April, October or the following year. Having raised a certain amount of money in their local community for a specific project, they then submitted an application to the Department for X amount of money and were handed out amounts of £5,000 or £10,000 here or there which was not of much value to them. One could give everybody some funds but no projects will be completed. We are better off to try to have as many projects in as many areas as possible come to fruition. That is the basis on which we are trying to work at present. There are over 1,200 applications under the old scheme and £16 million worth of commitments. I am trying to bring some cohesive strategy to the future of the national lottery scheme.
There is no need for anyone to panic. Applications can still be made and they will be treated in the same manner. New applications after this date will be subject to different criteria in order to aid the cohesiveness of the scheme and to benefit sport properly.
Many of the allocations made in the past were of great benefit to smaller clubs in particular. Some of the bigger clubs were disappointed because they did not get enough. I have tabled questions which deal with some of the points the Minister has raised. Will the applications from last year which are left over, so to speak, and to which no funds are committed, including up to today, get an allocation in this year? Will applications from then on be subject to the new criteria? Applications for some of the schemes which the Minister has identified were allocated funds but they were not drawn down for various reasons. Will there be a review of those applications? There is no point in having funds which have been committed but are unused. The Minister is aware of some of the projects involved.
It is impossible to say that all the applications will be funded this year.
Will they be dealt with and either rejected or accepted?
Yes. The process continues. At the moment the Department is sifting through the applications before I make an announcement of the allocations. We must go through all the applications in order to appraise them.
What about the ones which received commitments but have not drawn down the funds?
If a commitment has been made it will, on the furnishing of the relevant documents——
Is there a time factor?
No.
I regret the Minister's use of the term "like snuff at a wake". When I was Minister of State there were applications for projects totalling £500 million.
There was an election in June.
A total of £48 million worth of grants had been applied for and there were 1,500 applications. After much consideration and examination of projects over 500 were allocated funds in 1997. They were dealt with strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the Department and were sanctioned by the Department of Finance. In contrast with the £15 million which the Minister quoted, I inherited an overrun of £10.9 million in that scheme.
That must have been a lively wake.
The Deputy left it behind him.
The Minister referred to 1988 when most of those decisions would have been made by people from his party. In the context of the guidelines set out by the Sports Council about the need to fund at national, regional and local level, how can the Minister justify placing a moratorium on the plans of so many groups, having given in one fell swoop a £20 million handout, albeit to a credible organisation for a credible purpose? How can he justify giving £20 million in one decision and putting in doubt the hopes of clubs at local and regional levels?
With regard to the £20 million for the GAA——
I applauded that.
We know what we are talking about. The newspapers have been full of that case, asking why we did not give money to smaller organisations. There is up to £18 million in the pipeline for those organisations waiting to be used. It is not our fault that they have not been able to take it up. We have made the commitments.
The Minister need not panic. There is a long lead in time.
I am not panicking. I do not wish to cause panic among these clubs. A club which makes an application must get the work on its project under way within a certain period, whether that is six months or a year. There will have to be a sunset clause, so to speak. We cannot have a situation whereby applications remain in the pipeline for an open-ended period. I am sure the Deputy will agree that we will instil urgency in people to get projects under way. They will have their own funds in place and they will receive a decent amount from the national lottery funds.
I hope to be able to fulfil a large number of commitments that have been made. The Deputy made an excuse about inheriting a certain situation but the general perception was reflected in the result of the June election. However, a real effort will be made to give money to clubs which are up and running and which have a real interest in getting their community projects under way.
The Minister has identified types of projects with which we are all familiar, where a club may have been granted only a fraction of the amount it sought and the shortfall removes the club's capacity to carry out a project. It appears there are many outstanding commitments for amounts which will not lead to the completion of projects. What does the Minister intend to do, knowing the original amounts sought and knowing that small amounts have been committed which are insufficient to see the projects finished? Will those sums lie there indefinitely? The shortfall means the project cannot proceed as intended. The money sits frozen indefinitely. What does the Minister intend to do to free up the funds? The clubs should be allocated the balance as a first priority to get the projects out of the way.
The Deputy's point is relevant. I hope such a situation will not arise in future. I agree it has been a problem with allocations in the past and that is why there are £16 million and 1,200 applications waiting. It is a matter I hope we can discuss in the House at some point. I could use all of this year's allocation on such projects, ignoring allocations for years to come. It is an invidious situation to be in. We are trying to address the issue and to establish criteria to prevent it recurring. It is a difficult matter that deserves further debate.
The Minister does not understand the problem.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
