Vol. 526 No. 2
24 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the total lottery sports capital programme grants allocated under the last advertised programme; the total moneys that have been drawn down to date; the number of successful applicants that have not responded to date; the procedure that takes place should the total allocated moneys not be drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25988/00]
Under the 2000 sports capital programme grants to the value of £36 million were allocated to some 675 projects. To date, almost £200,000 of this amount has been drawn down.
Following the finalisation of the allocations, grantees were informed of the allocations in July and August of this year. As the allocation of the grant brings with it conditions which must be met by the grantee before the grant can be confirmed and paid, it would not be unusual that many of the grantees would not yet have responded formally to the Department or not have yet drawn down the grant.
Recipients of grants have been given until the end of September 2001 to submit the relevant documentation to facilitate the drawing down of funds and the grant offer can be withdrawn at any time after that date if the required conditions are not fulfilled. Any grants withdrawn under this process reduce the overall commitments of the Department under the programme. I am planning to announce the 2001 sports capital programme in December.
