: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne who will have ten minutes.
Sports Funding: Statements
Fáiltím roimh an deis an t-eolas is déanaí a thabhairt don Seanad faoinár bpleananna forbartha um chaipiteal agus beartas spóirt. Táim ag súil le tuairimí na Seanadóirí a chloisteáil. Ba mhór an onóir dom gur ceapadh mé i m'Aire Stáit le freagracht as an spórt agus as an gcorpoideachas. Ó ceapadh mé, tá tiomantas, paisean agus fís na n-eagraíochtaí spóirt ar fud na tíre tar éis dul go mór i bhfeidhm orm agus na heagraíochtaí sin ag iarraidh a n-áiseanna spóirt a fhorbairt. Maidir leis seo, tá dhá scéim ghníomhacha tacaíochta deontais ag mo Roinn chun áiseanna spóirt a fhorbairt, is iad sin an clár um chaipiteal agus trealaimh spóirt agus an ciste infreastruchtúr spóirt ar mhórscála.
In our national sports policy the Government set out the aim to double the level of Exchequer funding for sport by 2027. In the first half of the ten-year lifespan of the national sports policy, clear progress has been made in terms of sport funding and we are well on track to achieving our 2027 target. In the budget last month I announced an overall budget allocation of €183.3 million for sport in 2024. To compare, when the national sports policy was published in 2018, the budget was €111 million. In regard to Sport Ireland, the 2024 allocation delivers an increase of more than €7 million in its budget, which brings it to €106.7 million. This allocation represents an increase of 56% since 2020. This level of funding will allow Sport Ireland to increase its funding support in a number of very important areas next year, including core funding for national governing bodies of sport and Women in Sport funding.
As regards Women in Sport funding an increase of €2 million for the Women in Sport programme is been provided for 2024. This represents a doubling of funding for Women in Sport programmes. In addition to the increase in Women in Sport funding, the Government has also increased the core funding available for sporting organisations. Under budget 2024, I announced €2 million in additional core funding, a 7.6% increase, to support our sporting organisations in carrying out their valuable work as they deal with increasing pressures. The Government fully appreciates the impact energy costs have had on households and businesses but also their impacts on sports clubs and facilities. To date, €23.5 million has been allocated under the sports energy support scheme, supporting more than 1,900 clubs, community-led sports facilities, national facilities and major stadiums. The year 2024 will be an Olympic and Paralympic year, and in line with the aims of the high performance strategy 2021 to 2032, and the national sports policy, the Government is providing an additional €1 million for high performance sport. The increased funding will support Team Ireland as it prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. It will also help with the continued development of coaching and pathways support as envisaged under our national high performance strategy.
Additional funding is also being provided to Sport Ireland to progress the national sports policy and to support programmes which help those with a disability and the most disadvantaged in our society to actively participate in sport. As Senators will be aware, the sports capital and equipment programme is the main channel of Government support for developing sports facilities and purchasing sports equipment for sports clubs and organisations.
Since 1998, over 13,000 projects have benefited from sports capital funding, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. In terms of outcomes, for the 2020 round of the programme alone, almost 2,900 different projects received a grant offer, with over €166.6 million allocated.
While the main field sports such as GAA, soccer and rugby again did very well, I think that any fair analysis will acknowledge the diversity and spread of grants awarded. This shows the diversity of sports in the country. Over 50 different sports benefited under the 2020 round of the programme including boxing, taekwondo, rowing and wheelchair sport, to name just a few. Every pitch drained, every sports hall refurbished, and every piece of equipment bought using these grants allows more people to participate in sport which is ultimately what we are trying to achieve: to have, in effect, a participation nation.
I will briefly update the House about the latest round of the sports capital and equipment programme. The 2023 round was open for applications from 17 July until 8 September. It is clear that the programme has again generated a large number of applications. It is also evident that the total number of applications received under this round will exceed the previous record number of applications: the 3,106 applications which were submitted under the 2020 round. I intend to publish the finalised scoring system and assessment manual for the 2023 round shortly and simultaneously I will also publish the full list of all applications received under this round. Once these documents are published, the detailed assessment work will start. It is planned to assess the "equipment-only" applications first, with a view to announcing these grants in the coming months. Work will then commence on the assessment of the capital applications, with the allocations likely to be announced later next year.
I will now turn to the Department’s other capital funding scheme for sports projects, the large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. Under the national sports policy, published in 2018, the establishment of the LSSIF was provided for. The aim of the fund is to provide an open and transparent system, for applying for sports grant assistance, where the amount sought is greater than that available under the sports capital and equipment programme. To date, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals.
As we can all appreciate, the pandemic gave rise to significant financial challenges for all LSSIF grantees, with many of them having to reprioritise their own expenditure plans. In more recent times, the high level of construction inflation has also presented considerable challenges. In view of these issues, it was considered timely to review progress on all of the approved LSSIF projects, and meetings with all of the grantees have taken place. Based on these discussions, it is encouraging that a majority of the 33 projects should be in a position to draw down funding in the next 12 months. Following positive engagement with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe and his Department, and in recognition of the challenges faced by some grantees, officials in my Department wrote to all LSSIF grantees, inviting them to apply for additional support by 4 August 2023. All of this information has now been received. I intend to be in a position to announce further LSSIF allocations to grantees in the coming weeks with a view to ensuring all existing LSSIF projects can be completed. I am engaging with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe on a possible new round. I want to be in a position to announce that but I must engage with the Department of public expenditure.
Mar a dúradh cheana, tugann mo ról mar Aire Stáit an deis dom a fheiceáil go gcuirtear an-spéis san infheistíocht leanúnach in áiseanna spóirt. Tuigim freisin go raibh na blianta beaga anuas an-dúshlánach ó thaobh an spóirt de. Uaireanta, nuair a bhíonn rud éigin imithe, is ansin go bhfuilimid fíor-bhuíoch as. Creidim go láidir gur léirigh Covid-19 cé chomh tábhachtach agus atá spórt dúinn go léir. Dá réir sin, táim ag tnúth le cuidiú le go leor tionscadail thábhachtacha spóirt dul chun cinn a dhéanamh sna míonna amach romhainn trí leithdháiltí nua faoin scéim um chaipiteal agus trealamh spóirt agus faoin gciste infreastruchtúr spóirt ar mhórscála. Is féidir liom a chinntiú don Seanad go leanfaidh mé ag troid go dian ar son na n-acmhainní riachtanacha chun a chinntiú gur féidir linn níos mó áiseanna spóirt ar gach scála a fhorbairt sna blianta amach romhainn agus táim ag tnúth le bhur dtuairimí a chloisteáil inniu.
Before we move on, I wish to welcome Dermot and Anne Marie McKenna from the village of Fore in my own home county of Westmeath. They are guests of Senator Gavan.
I thank the Minister of State for outlining the huge scope of work he does in funding our sports organisation. I refer not just to the pillar sports, but to all sports. He has shown great commitment in this regard, especially in showing that so-called "minority" sports are receiving their fair share and the support they so desperately need. I highlight as well all the work he is doing in the area of reform and inclusiveness. This has also been notable, and the Minister of State has made it a hallmark of his tenure in his role, as it also was, indeed, when his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, held the portfolio.
The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, has made it a firm objective to make "sport for all" a reality and not just a catchphrase. It is something that now has meaning across gender, age, ability, disability and social circumstances. I say this because sport is the great leveller, the great vehicle through which people fulfil their abilities and through which doors can be opened. Briefly, on this topic of sport for all and inclusiveness, there is something that should really be celebrated on this island, namely, our success in being named as a joint host of the Euro 2028 championships. It will be in conjunction with the Irish Football Association and its Scottish, Welsh and English equivalents.
The two venues that will be used on this island will be the Aviva Stadium here in the Republic, and Casement Park in Belfast. Frankly, the noise generated in recent weeks in Northern Ireland regarding the use of Casement Park is dangerous to the very hosting of Euro 2028, and it is depressing. Last night, it was depressing to see the Kop end in Windsor Park festooned in banners emblazoned with "No to Casement". It was especially depressing on a good night for Irish football - something rare on both parts of this island - as Northern Ireland beat Denmark by two goals to nil.
I praise the CEO of the Irish Football Association, Patrick Nelson, for his comments made last Thursday. He said, "This is a pivotal moment for football and society", and he is so right about this. I say this because, unfortunately, it is never just about football in the North; it is societal. Fair play to Patrick Nelson for saying it. This €150 million stadium will add to the fine facilities already in situ in Windsor Park and Ravenhill Stadium, both of which were substantially funded by the British Government. Yes, Casement Park will be a GAA headquarters for Ulster Gaelic football when the Euro 2028 championships are over, but the GAA is as entitled to this support in the North from the British Government as were the IFA and the IRFU. The GAA is the largest association on this island and one whose members were subjected to horrendous intimidation during the Troubles. This did not just come from paramilitary organisations, but also from the very British forces that were on the streets. Quite frankly, uneducated interventions over the past couple of weeks are not helpful. People who should know better should button it.
I refer to interventions from people like the former goalkeeper for Shamrock Rovers and Northern Ireland, Alan Mannus, who stated the use of Casement Park as a venue is far from helpful. When he spoke about this matter and the benefit to football, though, he said he had not done enough research to know if this was the case. Well, you know what you can do if you have not done the research. The irony here is that the ground out in Tallaght Stadium where Alan plied his trade with distinction for many years was entirely funded by this State and, indeed, controversially, the GAA was kept out. The word "No" needs to be removed from the lexicon of the North. There should be no more "No to Casement". Let us move on and build that stadium and enjoy the Euro 2028 championships on this island as a whole. As I said, the investment in Casement Park by the British Government, and hopefully too by this Government, is as much deserved as the funding that went to Windsor Park and Ravenhill Stadium. I urge Gary McAllister and the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs to embrace this announcement for Northern Ireland. They should see this as a good news story before it turns into a scenario where football only comes home to 50% of this island.
Moving closer to home, and it does not get much better than this, I raised with the Minister of State last week the issue of the suspension of State funding for the Football Association of Ireland and the ongoing controversy at that body. What is the Minister of State's up-to-date position, given the story from Mark Tighe published in the Sunday Independent over the weekend?
It stated that the remuneration package, which was in excess of €270,000 to CEO Jonathan Hill, was paid in each of the last two years. There is great disquiet and hurt among the staff of the FAI. They have gone through this scenario before. We were promised a full and open reform of the body. There was an apology at the weekend, but how far has it gone?
Also, the issue of the make-up of the board of the FAI, and its gender requirements, rumbles on. It needs to be met ahead of this December AGM, because as the Minister of State quite rightly pointed out last week, the ramifications for not doing so will result in cuts of 50% in funding in January for equipment grants and clubs that need it at a grassroots level. Indeed, as the Minister of State rightly said, the issue needs to be addressed by all governing bodies ahead of the deadline. We do not need any more controversies. We need the good news stories that the Minister of State has outlined, such as the investment by the Government in places such as Tallaght Stadium, Dalymount Park and Finn Harps Football Club. The investment is being felt on the ground, not just at a League of Ireland level, but at a local level in the grounds the Minister of State has visited with me, such as Navan Town Cosmos Football Club, Park Villa Football Club and the clubs throughout our own County Meath. That is where we need to see the investment.
The Minister of State touched on the large-scale infrastructure bodies and how he is discussing a new scheme with the Minister for public expenditure and reform. I will ask about the construction of that scheme, because in the last scheme many projects were not moved on. We cannot have the same scenario again. I appreciate the construction costs have gone up and I appreciate the issues around Covid-19, but too many of the large-scale infrastructure projects were not moving. Has the Minister of State looked at the construction of that, as well as what the requirements would be for successful applicants to actually move on what is being done?
Regarding other sports and minority sports in this country, I am thinking of cricket in particular, we have seen very welcome advancements in making sure that sport is enjoyed not just by the pillar sporting organisations but in all sports throughout this country. The investment package that is being put in place through the capital sports grant is making that a reality. In one fell swoop, we went from €40 million funding per annum to €150 million per annum. I do not care what anyone says - in any man's language that was a hugely significant jump in State funding of sport. It shows the Government's commitment and its appreciation for what sports clubs do across the length and breadth of this country. There are more than 2,000 clubs in receipt of that. I hope that when the Minister of State announces the new round in the new year that we will see funding not just of an equal term but in excess of that so that we can make sure that the clubs that need that investment will get it.
As the Minister of State has said, we have a big year ahead of us on so many fronts and in so many major international competitions. At the end of the day, the main focus and drive of all sports bodies - and I say this as someone who worked as a sports journalist for many years - are not on the big days and the big events, which are what everyone may talk about. This is a matter of the local club field. That is where the power of sports clubs is truly felt. It is imperative that we drive investment because too many of the debates are about the core funding at a national level. It is at a local level that that is most required.
Finally, I will mention a sport in which we excel. The Minister of State mentioned the Olympics. A sport in which we excel in those Olympic Games and many other championships has a presence in halls right across the country. That is the sport of boxing. This weekend, the International Boxing Association, IBA, junior world championships will take place in Armenia for the first time after a break of eight years. We have 12 boxers taking part in those championships in Armenia, including our own Meath woman, Tegan Farrelly, from the Dunboyne Boxing Club. I wish them all well. It is a huge credit to them and all the coaches that they have made it as far as Armenia. We hope to see more success for the Irish and for the Irish flag to be hoisted this weekend.
I welcome the Minister of State. I feel the pressure of trying to follow that contribution from Senator Cassells. I fully agree with him. He is a passionate sportsman. He speaks with great knowledge and conviction on sport. He made a good and strong opening contribution.
The key concept the Senator talked about was the power of sport. It is a powerful thing. There must be a greater focus on sport in our local communities. Many of the smaller clubs have always struggled. Much of people's energy is taken up in making a case to get funding for local clubs. What does sport do? It builds confidence, stamina and resilience. Those are all critical parts of our education and formation as young people. I acknowledge the Government's investment in sport, which is commendable. There are many demands on Government finances but it is good that the focus has been kept on the importance of sport. We could do more and I know the Government wants to do more. No one in political life would like to see a reduction in our commitment to sport. The Government has flown the flag strongly and shown its commitment.
Anyone who saw or was involved in the GAA All Stars Awards on Saturday night could not help but see the power of the young men and women involved in the sport. GAA is strong and well organised. I spoke to a parish priest from County Meath the other night who told me he wished his parish could be organised like the GAA. I said I thought they were all part of the one and he told me the GAA has moved much further in terms of considering what community is about. I will come to other sports but the GAA in particular is the very backbone of community. When I look at Laois, Offaly and Galway, GAA clubs are everywhere. Their clubhouses make a statement. It was a passion for generations of families to come together build those clubhouses. They fundraise. They partner with and, rightly, seek funding from Government. These organisations are the bedrock of communities. Such clubs were once stronger in rural than urban areas but I now think of Kilmacud Crokes and many others that are up there in that space. Thinking of the GAA All Stars Awards, I am aware that the players present were once young fellows, banging a ball against a wall or whatever they were doing. They have pride in being selected to play for their counties and what a great pride that must be. It is positive that we continue to spend money.
I acknowledge the IRFU and the enormous work it has done in mentoring young men and women in rugby. This goes back to our 31 local authorities and sports partnerships. That is where it all begins. It is about setting those dreams and that ambition, and pulling together as teams. There are many more people behind the scenes than just the players on the team and on the pitch. I acknowledge that. It is important that we continue to fund adequately youth programmes in our schools and sports clubs, and to provide for mentoring. That is important because they are the role models for sport. We see the amount of people who move on from sport. It is amazing the amount of people in public life who have come through sport. A considerable amount of people in Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and local councils have come from the discipline of sport and what that brings in respect of community participation.
I want to turn for a moment to the disability sector. I am conscious, as the Minister of State is, of the Dormant Accounts Fund, from which Sport Ireland has established a local disability sports fund. The closing date for submissions was in early October. It is important that we support people through the provision of disability specific training and education, and the provision of resources for local clubs and volunteers. They have extra struggles and challenges and need supports. It is important that we continue to expand and promote the opportunities for people with disabilities who wish to come through in meaningful and competitive sport. That is important.
I say "Yes" to and fully support the plans for Casement Park. It has great potential to unite people. You win their minds and you win their hearts. I have spoken to people who are fiercely supportive of the development Casement Park. It is a real opportunity for bringing people together.
We bring people together through sport and other means. However, sport is a particularly good one that I support.
I say well done to the Government. I ask it to keep focus. I know it would like to do more but it is very important for the health of our nation, citizens, people and community that we continue to strongly invest in and partner with sport. Clubs are not all looking for total hand-outs. It is about a meaningful partnership in sport. I particularly commend the focus in the past few years on the greater participation of women in sport.
We also need to be conscious of some of the difficulties around sport, including keeping our people safe in sport and our protocols around it. For far too long, too many people who attached themselves to sport took advantage of young, vulnerable children and teenagers and, indeed, adults, and somehow got away. Quite frankly, that is not good enough either. We are seeing stronger protocols in that area, which is to be commended, but we must always be vigilant. There needs to be a focus on training of our mentors, coaches and participants. There is also a role for parents and guardians in that regard. We have always to be mindful and watchful that we keep our children and young people safe in public spaces, public places and in public participation in sport.
Well done on all these measures. It is a good news story. I thank the Minister of State.
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus tréaslaím go mór leis an méid infheistíochta in áiseanna spóirt atá déanta i rith na bliana. Chomh maith leis sin táim go láidir i bhfabhar na físe don todhchaí. I welcome the Minister of State. We are neighbours. I hope that will be reflected in the allocations to come and he will show a neighbourly touch in very much focusing on all the County Cavan clubs that have applied. I welcome the Minister of State's opening statement on behalf of the Government on where we are at. I make my opening remarks on behalf of Senator Carrigy, who is our spokesperson in this area, but who is at an important meeting with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. Hopefully, that meeting will not take away the money for sports capital grants. The Senator will be along shortly.
It is so encouraging and uplifting to learn from the Minister of State that 13,000 projects have benefited from an investment of €1.15 billion since 1998. That is so transformative for people. As was said, it is very much crucial to the formation of young people across all facets of development. The team spirit, resilience, self-confidence, camaraderie and everything that goes with participation in sport are vital for young people. It is also important for human development right across different ages, with walking tracks around pitches, the various activities that take place there, the club rooms where people come together, and all of that building of communities. It is an extraordinarily important investment. It is such a good investment that, as the Minister of State probably agrees, it is very disappointing when we have to exclude somebody because what it does is just wonderful.
It is important at this juncture to pay tribute to volunteers, who are so crucial to the delivery of this programme. They are such a resource in all our communities. The volunteers in all the football clubs, sporting clubs and sports partnerships are great people and are a treasure. We should applaud and value them. They are the people who generate the projects, give the leadership, create the vision locally and get local participation. They are wonderful and a great credit.
I would like the Minister of State to consider a very personal proposal. Apart from the good-humoured banter, which was laced with a level of seriousness, about positive discrimination in favour of Cavan as a neighbour, I reiterate a very profound point I made on the Order of Business that I feel very strongly about.
I ask the Minister of State to give this serious consideration. I do not think it can be done with this grant or in this tranche, but if he could be the Minister to do this, I would be so delighted. Before he decides not to do it, I ask him to reflect on it.
We are all trying to work towards a united Ireland of hearts and minds. I welcome the special unit in the Taoiseach's office, which was initiated by the current Tánaiste, and all that investment. I welcome every effort to build peace in Northern Ireland and across the island and, very importantly, as a prelude to unity, to build interaction North and South.
My proposal is that the Minister of State would award a level of points or a small amount of points to an application that can show evidence that the club is interacting with a club in Northern Ireland. It could be a very superficial interaction, even if it were only to play a challenge game or two once or twice a year, or it could be a bigger interaction. A club that is going for a sports capital grant would show evidence in its application form. Hypothetically, Dunboyne, in the Minister of State's own area, could be interacting with Rostrevor and playing games there. Maybe the team would be going up for a challenge match or Rostrevor would be coming down once or twice a year. There is a limit practically to how much this could be done. If we could do this, however, it would have an enormous impact because what is needed to build a united Ireland is to build friendships and human contact.
I am a product of St. Aidan's Comprehensive School in Cootehill. The great merit of that school was that it was multidenominational. Apart from having male and female participation from all social classes, rural and urban, it was multidenominational and it made for a great mutual understanding. It was a big catalyst in keeping civil strife and trouble from spreading to the southern area during the worst of the Troubles. What am I saying? Building these relationships would be so valuable. I think we are very Dublin-centric and the Minister of State knows this. In places like counties Meath, Cavan, Longford, Leitrim and Louth, we are far too Dublin-centric in the sense that we do not go north enough. We do not go to Belfast enough. We do not interact with the North enough, and yet, in a survey, we would all aspire to and say we are in favour of a united Ireland, and we are, but we have to build it in the way I am suggesting.
I appeal to the Minister of State, with his civil servants, to look at the possibility. It would be interesting if he were the Minister to do this and if this conversation today were to be the catalyst or genesis of it. He might look at getting a core small percentage of the marks in each application awarded for evidence of contact with Northern Ireland. Marks are already awarded for evidence, which he rightly alluded to in his opening statement and he is so right about that, of the participation of women and for gender equality in a club. There should be mass gender participation and diversity and all of that. Indeed, the Minister of State supports diversity in sports, and these are wonderful things. If he added that little criterion for an added number or small percentage of marks that could be achieved by showing evidence of contact with Northern Ireland, every club would make a serious effort to get the maximum marks. I can tell him from the years I have been dealing with these clubs, like all colleagues on all sides of the House who have all been interacting with clubs in the context of the sports capital grants, that the enthusiasm and drive is there. I would receive a number of telephone calls from a club secretary, as all Members would, right up to the day of the award asking when the award is, how their club is looking and whether they will get money. They are wound up about it and it is wonderful that they are. These are wonderful people. Imagine if, as part of this, we also had them so wound up about putting the effort into that little piece about Northern Ireland. The implications could be great. I appeal to the Minister of State to look at that.
I wish to pay a great tribute. Tragically, we had some deaths recently among young people in my county. We have them everywhere, but we had a number of very tragic deaths in a cluster in the past year or so in my county.
The whole response of the GAA clubs to the bereaved families is something to behold. It is impressive, and it merits applause, support and recognition. The Minister of State might allude to it in his closing remarks. The people who do this great work are contributing to the avoidance of tragic days like this. I remember telling a GAA official recently that they were never going to know the good they had done, because they will never know the tragedies that would have unfolded and people who would have gone to the wrong side of the fence were it not for their work. There are people who might have got involved in substance abuse, anti-social behaviour, or who across the board might have fallen through the cracks were it not for the work of these sporting clubs. We will never know about those people because they have not fallen through the cracks. That is why we should applaud and support them. I know the Minister of State is enthusiastic and his opening statement is encouraging.
I would like to have a celebration of these volunteers. I would like the Minister of State to examine my proposal on Northern Ireland, and I would appreciate him coming back to me at some point with his thoughts. I hope we go on supporting the clubs the way we are, and I wish him well with the allocations to come. I am only partly jesting about discrimination to the region.
The Senator only mentioned Cavan twice, and Cootehill once. I hope the Minister of State looks as favourably on his neighbours to the west, as the Senator has suggested for his neighbours in the North.
All neighbours.
I welcome the Minister of State. I advocate for a State-wide sports facility strategy. Over the past two decades more than €1 billion has been invested in sports facilities through various programmes such as the sports capital programme, the local swimming pool programmes, the large-scale infrastructure fund and separate individual programmes for major sports projects. Despite the large amount of money committed there remains no State-wide strategy for the expansion of sports facilities. The Government provided a capital allocation of at least €100 million over the period of 2018 to 2027 for the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, of which €86 million has already been allocated to 33 projects. Because of Covid and the sharp rise in inflation projects have been slow to begin. As of last June, only four of the 33 projects have received funding from the Department at a total of €3.1 million. There is obviously demand from the national governing bodies for a new round of large-scale infrastructure funding to be opened. In Sinn Féin's alternative budget we proposed an additional €10 million to the large-scale investment fund to open a new round of fresh applications for those seeking additional allocations due to the rise in costs.
I am a League of Ireland fan. League of Ireland attendances are higher than they have been in probably all of our lifetimes. Not since the introduction of television into Ireland have League of Ireland attendances been so high. We need to see movement on Dalymount Park, Finn Harps, Sligo Rovers and Richmond Park. There are probably others I am forgetting.
I also mention the sports capital equipment programme, which is the State's primary vehicle for supporting the development of smaller sports facilities and purchasing non-personal sports equipment. It has benefited a lot of clubs, but many in the community have been calling for long overdue reform of that programme. I know there is a sense out there that the review published by the Department earlier this year has failed to address some of the main concerns. It does not give any additional scoring weight to multi-sport facilities.
Clubs feel there is a disadvantage when they are part of a multisport club or centre when the same funding is available to one sporting club or one that hosts six or seven sports. The Minister of State has responded to Commencement matters here previously stating he believes that is the way forward and that multisport facilities represent the future. Tallaght Stadium, funded by South Dublin County Council, hosts many sports. It may not host GAA games, but it hosts many sports.
It is funded by the Government.
And by South Dublin County Council.
It gets millions from the Department of housing.
The Minister of State will get to answer again.
South Dublin County Council did not get a mention the first time so I am just putting it on the record.
It was funded by the URDF.
We believe that the sports capital and equipment programme goes against the National Sports Policy 2018 - 2027. I would welcome the Minister of State's response on that one.
Primarily I wish to advocate for a state-wide strategy for sports facilities but I will not take up any more time.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I have raised sports funding in this House on a number of occasions. The last time the Minister of State was in the House we were debating a report from the sports and media committee when we raised sports funding as well. It is a vital conversation to have in this House. As has been mentioned a few times this evening, it is important for many people in this country.
I start by acknowledging the sports capital fund. The Minister of State outlined this evening that since 1998 some 13,000 projects have been supported at a cost of over €1 billion. That needs to be acknowledged and we are grateful for that funding. Every time the sports capital grants are announced we are all contacted by members of sporting organisations to sit down with them and go through applications. It is something we all do because we all value sport and we all value the prospect of those clubs and committees getting sports capital funding. I acknowledge the amount of sports capital funding by all governments since 1998.
I agree with Senator O'Reilly that it is always important to acknowledge volunteers when we talk about sport. This applies in the major pillar sports of Gaelic games, soccer and rugby right down to the minority sports. Without volunteers putting in hours and hours of work, many sporting organisations in this country simply would not survive. When we are talking about sports funding, it is important to acknowledge the volunteers who go about that on a daily and weekly basis. They spend hours away from their families doing that work. I know there have been issues with the number of volunteers, and sports clubs are calling out for volunteers. Today a few sports clubs, including my own, were calling out for volunteers once again. The Covid pandemic disrupted the number of volunteers coming to clubs. I take the opportunity of tonight's debate about sports funding to put out a call for volunteers to continue their great work with sports clubs in catering for many young children and ensuring those clubs continue to survive and flourish.
I know the Minister of State gave us some figures for sports funding in his opening remarks. The latest figures we have for sports funding relating to 2021 put us at the bottom of EU spending on sports funding at 0.4%. Countries such as Portugal and Denmark are spending twice as much as that and Sweden is spending three times as much as we did in those years. I believe those are the latest figures available.
I wish to discuss where sports funding goes. I have raised this with the Minister of State previously. In a recent address to this House, the GAA president, Larry McCarthy, raised the prospect of the lack of facilities particularly relating to integration between the LGFA, the Camogie Association and the GAA. He and the GAA were concerned about the lack of facilities throughout the country. I am sure the Minister of State has heard this comment because it is a comment I hear regularly throughout south Kildare and also when I engage with sports clubs in my neighbouring counties of Laois, Meath, Wicklow and Carlow. It is an issue that is brought up with me time and time again.
On the last day I raised with the Minister of State the Labour Party policy for regional sporting facilities in towns with populations greater than 5,000 people. It is something the Government should be considering at the moment.
I do not think there is a town or village without a sports club or a number of such clubs struggling to find additional playing fields. My home town of Athy is under serious pressure. Thankfully, Kildare County Council has looked at this. While I was on that local authority, I argued for this over many years. We now have 13.5 acres available in Athy for sports. That land will be available once we get the funding, and that is the most important thing. That should be replicated throughout the country. A pilot scheme is needed in relation to this. Athy Camogie Club, for example, has no playing pitch. It depends on the other GAA clubs in the locality, of which there are five in total. If one club has its team playing on the pitch, then the camogie club, which has 250 members, cannot carry out a match or training. They are totally dependent on the goodwill of the five GAA clubs in the town of Athy and surrounding districts. It is a terrific sports club, but 250 young girls who cannot take part in the great sport of camogie is a serious worry for the club and its development. One prospect for getting around that was developing local authority-led sporting facilities. We were lucky enough in the last town development plan to zone 13.5 acres as playing facilities in Athy. That is sitting there at the moment. If the Minister of State wants a pilot project, the town of Athy would be happy to be that pilot project and ensure that Athy Camogie Club has playing facilities and that those 250 young girls-----
Can they not use the men’s facilities?
As I said, it is a separate club.
If there is anyone----
Let the Senator speak. The Minister of State will get his chance to respond at the end.
I will explain again because the Minister of State was on his phone when I last explained. There are five clubs in Athy and they are beholden to those five clubs to use the facilities. The problem in Athy, which is being replicated in other places I will mention, is that those clubs are at full capacity. The pitches they have they need for their own teams. That is why we are at capacity in Athy and it is not just Athy.
I know the Minister of State travelled to Kildare recently on a number of occasions and one of the places he went to was Kildare Town AFC. I happened to be there the night before he was there. They are looking for a full-sized Astroturf pitch. The night I was there, they were turning young people away from the door because their facilities are not good enough. It is sad to see young people being turned from the door because they had to concentrate on teams that were playing that weekend. That is why we are asking the Minister of State to look at facilities in towns with a population greater than 5,000. Athy is like Kildare town, Monasterevin and all the other towns in south Kildare. I am sure it is the same in Meath. When I talk to people in Carlow, Laois, Offaly and indeed Meath they are having the same problems. It is something we should take away. The last time I spoke to the Minister of State about this, he said he would go away and look at it,
I want to mention the sports partnerships. The Minister of State mentioned them before. They do great work, particularly, as Senator O’Reilly said, in the context of disability sports. We have to concentrate on that and make sport accessible for all. The Kildare Sports Partnership and all other sports partnerships do great work. One aspect of the funding is indoor bowls. I am sure it is a minority sport but camaraderie is built up in communities through indoor bowls. There is one now in every rural community in south Kildare. They play in their league and all that. It is brilliant to see people coming out of their homes. Rural isolation is being helped by all this and that is something we need to keep funding.
The FAI was mentioned. I was lucky enough to watch a thrilling FAI ladies' cup final on Sunday last, when Athlone Town came out on top on penalties against Shelbourne. I was taken by Michael O’Connor of Athlone Town afterwards and his assessment of funding in this country when he said that his club is drowning in relation to it. Senator Cassells has outlined the issues he has, and which I am hearing as well, regarding board membership and the funding of the FAI. There is an opportunity this evening for us all to hear where the Minister of State with responsibility for sport is on funding the FAI. I would welcome it if he could let us know what his and Government’s prospect is in respect of funding the FAI. This is so important. Those young girls who played in Tallaght last Sunday are role models for other girls across the country. We all applauded Katie McCabe and the Irish women’s team when they went to Australia.
Every young girl’s dream is to be like Katie McCabe and captain their country in a world cup. However, they also need the facilities to do that. More importantly, as Senator Cassells said, they need the funding to ensure the grassroots. My major concern is that the grassroots of football and soccer in the country can survive. That is absolutely essential for all those clubs.
To finish up, I would like the Minister of State to comment. I note he has come back to me on them using other sports facilities but that is not always available in relation to the Labour Party policy we are proposing. The local authority-led social enterprise idea that is much replicated in the UK could work in Ireland. The Minister of State knows the costs of land and building. I think the situation is now coming and that is why I am asking for a full rethink on sports funding in this country. We need to look at other ways of funding sports rather than, for example, giving one club in one town funding while the other two or three clubs lose out. That is important to say.
To finish up, the last time the Minister of State was in he stated that probably this round of the sports capital funding will be the last round and he is looking to come up with some other type or model of sports capital funding. Where is he with that? Does he foresee sports capital funding as it sits at the moment continuing or are he and Government looking at it another way?
That concludes the round of lead speakers. We will now move to five-minute slots and, at this stage, we have more speakers than five minutes, so I ask them to be as brief as possible.
I thank the Minister of State for the continued investment being made in sport across a range of levels. I refer to the investment to Sport Ireland and the national governing bodies. There is often much criticism - and rightly so - of some of the governing bodies but it should be acknowledged that many of them are effectively implementing the sports strategy. I pay tribute to the Federation of Irish Sport for the leadership it has shown in this regard as well.
I thank the Minister of State for his indication. When we talk about the sports capital and equipment programme and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, I welcome the fact he is continuing to push for a new round of that fund into the future. As others already indicated, it is critical that when looking at sports funding, we place a premium on sports clubs and sports organisations co-operating together and sharing facilities. Rather than relatively small sums being allocated to a number of clubs, if we had a situation whereby within a town or community a very significant sum was made available, that could make a huge difference. I anticipate that with the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, that would continue to be a priority.
I welcome the fact the Minister of State placed a greater emphasis on women’s participation in sport and as a result of the Oireachtas committee on sport - a number of members of the committee like myself are here - on dealing with questions around positive codes of behaviour. These are particularly useful. I also echo the points Senator Boyhan made around accessibility and ensuring that funding is made available for accessible facilities.
I have a concern around some of the sports capital and equipment programme to date. Certain types of sport, because they do not have the capacity often to apply as they do not have the experience, have not applied in as large numbers as possible. I have always believed that money should be made available for greater elements of capacity building to allow clubs to understand the process and take them through it. I welcome that in the last round, for instance, there was a significant increase in the number of boxing clubs that applied and qualified. We need to address this particularly for minority clubs and sports. We need to target those under-represented sports, and particularly those organisations and clubs in disadvantaged areas, in any future rounds of funding.
I wish to raise two other issues. One is not directly within the Minister of State’s brief but it will have an impact, and that is Government’s decision to close down the international investment programme. When the Minister, Deputy Harris, went into the Department of Justice, he took a decision to pull the shutters down straight away on that programme.
The Minister, Deputy McEntee, had resisted a quick shut-down of that programme. The difficulty, as we know, is that there are quite a significant number of sports capital developments which were funded under the international investment programme, IIP. Because the funding has not been completed for a lot of these projects, the IIP team is now trying to deal with the decision to close this programme very quickly. I am not disputing that decision but pulling the shutters down as quickly as has been done will lead to a number of projects potentially not being completed. The difficulty is that those clubs, organisations and projects will end up back at the Minister of State's door. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of this because it does not just impact on sport. A lot of the clubs are impacted. I ask the Minister of State to engage with the Department of Justice to ensure that any of those programmes that are currently being funded through the IIP can be brought to fruition. It would be crazy to have half completed programmes simply because there was a decision to close it so quickly.
Finally, I applaud the fact that the Minister of State has stood up to the National Transport Authority and the chief executive of Dublin City Council, unelected officials, for trying to move the Dublin City Marathon out of the city centre. The State needs to support the national marathon. In every other major city around the world the marathon is celebrated yet these unelected officials are trying to move it away from the city centre. For international visitors this is something they want to see. I applaud the Minister of State and encourage him to continue to engage with the relevant parties to ensure that the city marathon remains in the city.
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, here for statements on sports and sports funding. Only last week we had the people of the year awards in Ballinasloe. They acknowledged representatives across many areas, such as volunteer work and community groups. In a town of about 7,000 people, with a catchment area population of 14,000 or so, we have 19 international athletes. They are representing Ireland, if not Connacht, in modern pentathlon, golf, rugby, soccer, equestrian, karate, Futsal soccer and tug-of-war. That was 19 people coming out of clubs and groups in the town of Ballinasloe. It is thanks to the funding from Government and the State bringing these young people in a small town in the west of Ireland to international level. It just shows us the quality of clubs, volunteers and coaches in each of those areas.
The Minister of State might like to comment on community games. How do they factor into the funding through Sport Ireland? Are there supports through community games? Each of these groups came through community games first, through the schools, and then on to the local clubs. There is also work with clubs like rugby and soccer where someone working for the likes of Connacht Rugby will come into the schools. What other supports are available through the likes of Sport Ireland to get groups into schools to encourage and engage people in different sports, perhaps sports that are not as well known? Karate and gymnastics are ones we want to support, and perhaps international sports such as basketball and so on. We are seeing a lot more interest in them in our local areas.
The Minister of State has indicated that applications for the sports capital and infrastructure award are in excess of 3,106, from what I understand from last year. We worked hard in government to increase funding in terms of the numbers of applications we saw in the last round. Has the Minister of State any comments or feedback on how we are going to look at this? How many were funded last year under infrastructure and under sports capital? Are we looking at numbers or are we looking at amounts? I understand the infrastructure element might be towards mid-2024 and the actual sports capital announcements later in 2024. We worked with a lot of clubs across both counties, Roscommon and Galway. There was a lot of interest from schools also because they are finding it so difficult to access financial supports through the Department of Education for sports amenities and facilities. Does the Minister of State have any thoughts on the next round and how we can encourage more schools to apply, working with clubs as well?
Is there anything on the community sports and physical activity hubs? Some areas have been nominated for community sports and physical activity hubs. Does the Minister of State see any way to support the likes of new communities moving to our areas? How might that might focus on more international sports that may be more appealing to new families and new communities coming to Ireland?
The final thing I want to raise relates to a particular example around regional access, which I want to ask the Minister of State's thoughts on. I am dealing with a representation at the moment in relation to a young man who is excellent at gymnastics. He is still attending secondary school. Level 3 access to that type of coaching in Connacht - not the county of Galway but Connacht - is not available. It is available in Leinster and in Munster. What happens when access to a particular level of sport is no longer available, not just within a county but within a region? What is the responsibility of Sport Ireland and the Department of sport in ensuring access at a regional level? Does it come down to saying there is no interest in it? That is not enough. Where are the feeder schools? Where are the coaches from those sports who should be going into the schools to encourage and inspire students to get involved? Look at Connacht rugby. Some years ago some people were saying they were going to get rid of Connacht rugby. It is happening now with gymnastics. If Sport Ireland decides someone cannot get access to coaching at that level, they are not going to be an elite athlete or if they are, there will be a financial burden on their family in trying to ensure they can access the same level of training as those in the likes of Dublin. This comes down to regional access, which is the reason I am here.
The Minister of State has to come back in at 5.05 p.m. For everyone who wants to speak to get to speak by then, we are looking at three or four minutes each. I ask Members to curtail their contributions to three minutes.
It is good to have the Minister of State here to talk about this important area, which I know he is passionate about. He is already making a huge difference since taking office. I was delighted to welcome him to south Kildare recently and we visited a number of diverse clubs including rugby, snooker, soccer, GAA and watersports, which is very important with the blueway. Under the last round of funding, Kildare was very fortunate to receive over €5.4 million for its sports clubs. The grants are making a huge difference on the ground. It was a high allocation and we are already looking forward to another high allocation in the next round. The diversity is important. Kildare has built almost 8,000 houses in the last four years but we need to build sustainable communities and make sure there are recreational and sporting facilities also.
Kildare is a wonderful sporting county. We have terrific volunteers right across the county who do so much to support and develop our communities. I want to give a special shout-out to the Kildare Sports Partnership, Syl Merrins and his team Eddie, Majella, Donna, John and Fiach. They do a lot of work, particularly around sports inclusion. One of the areas the Minister of State highlighted when he was in Kildare recently was the all stars group in Kilcullen for young people with disabilities and how they are included in a mainstream club, which is hugely important. Earlier this year I got to meet the Minister of State in Berlin at the Special Olympics World Games. It was great to see the Irish athletes going from strength to strength.
I just want to give a shout-out to women's sport. We have been doing really well in Kildare. Róisín Byrne received an all-star on Saturday, which was absolutely fantastic. The women won the intermediate football championship. They do not have their own grounds but they are attempting to do that. It is difficult sometimes to get access to training facilities. It is likewise with the Newbridge hockey club and the Athy camogie club. It is important. The Minister of State is putting an emphasis on women's sport so I thank him for that.
I just want to mention the Rathangan tennis club. It went ahead and raised its own funds and last week it opened its new all-weather courts, which was just fantastic.
I give a big shout out to the team at St. Conleth's GAA grounds where the redevelopment committee has put in great work. They are hoping to open for the county finals next September, which we are looking forward to.
Sports funding is, of course, more than just about bricks and mortar and is about all of the people and communities involved. Infrastructure plays an important part especially around competitive sport. I am hoping that the impact of inflation on construction costs, which is impacting many sporting clubs, will be eased by the Government.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I envy him the job he has as I am a former physical education, PE, teacher who has been involved in sport all of my life. His portfolio is certainly a desirable one and is obviously on many occasions a good news Department. I firmly believe that there is a sport or activity for everyone and it is just a case of finding that sport. That is why our schools and our sports partnerships are so important for younger people to sample a whole range of sports and, ultimately, participate and specialise in them. We could not survive across all sports across the country without the volunteers who give of their time, day in and day out, 365 days of the year.
In the Minister of State's opening address he touched on the 2020 sports capital allocation to 2,900 projects of €166.6 million. As the Minister of State knows, the drawdown period on those grants vary based on when the club does the works so my question, looking forward to the 2023 sports capital programme, is how much will he be able to carry forward from 2023 into 2024 in order to maximise the pot available for both equipment and capital grants. Perhaps the Minister of State might be able to give an indication. We know that the equipment grants will come first. Is there even an expected month when that will be available? Subsequently, what month will the capital then be available next year because a record number of clubs have applied?
On the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, the Minister of State visited Walsh Park a few months ago and he saw first-hand the fantastic work done. Since his visit, the camogie and hurling county finals took place there. It is a fantastic facility but the allocation of €3.753 million which was given in 2019 was to do phase 1 and phase 2. The county board had to cut its cloth to measure in order to bring in that phase 1. I know that the Minister of State has done a body of work on additional allocations in that respect and I ask that people, clubs and organisations which have gone on and done those works, have cut their cloth to measure to ensure that they came in within budget, are not penalised now in the additional allocation but allowed to avail of an additional pot of funding to enable them to move on to their phase 2, which was what was envisaged in the first place. Does the Minister of State have an indication as to when that money will be available, where he spoke of the "coming" period?
Senators Dooley and Chambers are sharing and I am allocating them five minutes between the two Senators.
I thank the Minister of State. I will be brief. I commend him on the work he is doing in the sports Department and, in particular, his focus on ensuring that facilities across the country have access for both men and women. Very recently he had the privilege of visiting my hometown of Castlebar and he visited our key project in the town, the Leisure Complex at Lough Lannagh and the development of our climbing wall. We were very fortunate with the sports capital allocation last year to get significant funding towards the climbing wall and we have another application in for this year. We are expanding the project and we have to deal with the additional costs which arise in delivering that project.
The project ticks all boxes and will be equally accessible to everybody. It will be owned by the local authority and not by any particular club. It is a joint venture with the Atlantic Technological University, ATU. It will be of use there for students doing the outdoor education programme and will be available to everybody in the community, all clubs and communities and every member of the area. It will be the only climbing wall of its kind in the county and, indeed, across the region. We are developing the Lough Lannagh sports facility. We have the swimming pool and the tennis club as well with the dome on site.
We are master-planning that in order to ensure it can be a regional centre for sporting excellence, not just for County Mayo but also for the entire region. I thank the Minister of State for being at ATU, where he heard first-hand about the Castlebar Chamber of Commerce report on the economic benefits of sports in the county town and the wider community. It was the first of its kind. The Castlebar Chamber of Commerce commissioned the work and published the report, which the Minister of State was there to launch. I thank him for visiting our county town, Castlebar, seeing the sports complex there and Lough Lannagh, giving his support to the development of the climbing wall and launching the report on behalf of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce.
I welcome the Minister of State. I compliment him on his efforts to secure the additional funding necessary to meet the needs and expectations of growing communities. Funding is key because it is the only way we will get the infrastructure in place. The day is gone when we could expect or demand volunteers to be out, cap in hand, effectively begging their local communities. That should not be the way we, as a modern society, plan or progress our sporting infrastructure. I know the Minister of State is committed to that. When it comes to women's participation, I glaze over when I hear camogie teams thanking local GAA clubs for the use of their facilities. That is a retrograde step. I know the Minister of State has views on this matter, and I hope it can be progressed. We need a one club approach. We have to push hard, and it will not be easy. People have been in silos for long periods. We must respect and recognise the history and give due recognition to it, but we must move forward. I hear on far too many occasions about people moved aside and junior or senior camogie teams being pushed aside because the under-12 or under-13 boys need the facility. That is not appropriate.
On minority sports, we will have to co-ordinate it a bit better. Senator Wall identified a project in Athy. There was a good one in Ennis as well where the town council at the time bought land and developed facilities. At the time, it thought it would be able to bring some of the soccer and GAA clubs in to use communal facilities. That will not work. In County Clare, basketball, hockey and cricket are minority sports. They will never be able to purchase their own land. The council should have a devolved responsibility, and we should develop a paper on the matter and fund it adequately and appropriately. I met a basketball group in County Clare recently. There is a strong history of basketball in County Clare. The cost of the use of the hall has gone from €20 to €60 because those who have halls, which were funded by the State, have running costs. Even though energy costs have reduced, once it goes to €60, it is not coming back down. There is a wonderful hockey club in Ennis. It will never be in a position strong enough to get its own facility. If it was, it might get sports capital funding but it does not provide the initial seed capital required. It is the same for the likes of cricket. The cricket club in Shannon is working well with Clare County Council because there happens to be a bank of land there. It is moving in the right direction and they will be making a sports capital application. Funding is important. The bigger clubs across soccer, GAA and rugby have bases and platforms and are building well. We must continue to fund them in their development but not exclusively.
I welcome the Minister of State. I concur with all other Senators that increased funding is needed for sporting facility infrastructure. It is well known that it is important for young people to be involved in sports and to keep active for their well-being, physical and mental health and the benefits in later life of having been involved in sport. There was a recent announcement regarding the European Championships that will have a knock-on effect on soccer in particular in Ireland. Will there be significant funding to increase the infrastructure on the ground? By that, I mean League of Ireland clubs, especially in rural areas, and to increase their infrastructure and facilities and put in centres of excellence in the likes of Athlone and Longford. Those clubs are fighting hard to keep above water and fight above their level much of the time.
This was particularly the case in my own county a long number of years ago when we had a couple of successful FAI cup campaigns. It is important that the funding is put into the infrastructure. It has a knock-on effect of having European championships in the country.
The Minister of State mentioned in his introduction the large-scale sport infrastructure fund and how no more applications were being taken. At present, we are looking at trying to finalise those that are there. However, it would be important to give an indication of when that fund is going to come again. There are a lot of organisations, including sporting organisations and county boards. My own county board in Longford spent more than €1 million in the last number of weeks to purchase 30 acres to develop a centre of excellence for the future of GAA sports in the county. It would be important that we could give a timeline for counties to know that it is coming, although I know the finance is not going to be in place in the next number of years.
I concur with Senator Dooley with regard to the GAA, LGFA, and Camogie Association. I was a member of central council for a long number of years and I am very much in favour of the one club model. The sooner that comes, the better. I am very supportive of it.
With regard to the sports capital, I know there have been a significant number of applications but something I would like to see are ladies facilities for sports clubs. The Minister of State visited Longford rugby club a number of weeks ago where I met with him. Where clubs are putting in infrastructure to increase the participation levels, some sort of higher weighting level should be given to those applications. Something I have spoken about at the Oireachtas committee on a number of occasions is the drop-off in female participation in the teenage years. We had a very successful 2020 campaign that was funded outside of State funding. We need to look at ramping that up again and putting some support measures in place to keep more females participating in sports, particularly in the teenage years when they tend to drop away from some of the field sports, in particular.
I want to compliment the sports partnerships throughout the country. They do a massive amount of work on the ground in getting people involved in many of the minority sports. Any investment in that is welcome. It is important too, and this point was made to me, that much of their investment seems to be annual rather than long-term multiannual to be able to hold on to staff. I compliment them on the work they do. They managed to get me out on a lake in a canoe last year and got me home safely.
The Minister of State is very welcome to the Seanad this evening. I thank him for coming to County Louth a few weeks ago when he met with more than 90 award recipients on the first annual Louth local sports partnership volunteer awards. To me, that is why we are all here and why this whole debate is so important. It is about the volunteers and the people. Approximately 90 people were nominated by their clubs. They go in day in, day out and get very little thanks and very little glory. It is usually the clubs and the teams that get the glory while the workers stand back with smiles on their faces. It was really important for the Louth local sports partnership to celebrate the volunteers that night. The Minister of State also attended St. Patrick's GAA Club, whose property got absolutely decimated during the recent floods in north Louth. I thank him for his support on that.
Much has been said this evening about the importance of sports funding and supporting it. There are, however, a few things I want to highlight in the very short time we have in terms of diversity and inclusion. In my local clubs at home, it would be the All Stars programmes and in Glenmore Athletic Club, in which I am very much involved; it is our inclusive athletics training. To be able to get the national governing bodies very much involved in pushing that and in pushing competition for the likes of athletics clubs is important. If there is support to run competitions and sports for all children, this should absolutely be encouraged and supported. We in Glenmore Athletic Club do that in our competitions. I hope the Minister of State will be looking favourably on our grant application in which we are seeking to improve our six-lane racetrack to an eight-lane racetrack and get it redone and recovered.
We have so many positive things in sport, but I also want to touch on women in sport. It is an absolutely abominable and disgraceful situation when sportswomen have to pay for access to county GAA facilities. They are not able to get access to a gym and are scrambling for facilities. It is absolutely disgraceful. In this day and age, when our Louth women are just as successful as our Louth men, it is absolutely terrible that they would not have equal access to the equipment and facilities that the men have.
I have a lot more to say but I will talk to the Minister of State again.
I will try to get through as many of the issues as possible. I will talk about the issue of women and sport, which has been raised by a number of Senators. The day is over when, as Senator Dooley said, women have to thank the GAA for letting them in or have to pay. I brought in a new rule on sports capital this year and this will apply in counties Kildare, Louth, Clare and all over the country where it is an issue. Again, I will not refer to specific issues.
If clubs get a grant in this round of the sports capital, they will have to certify on drawdown that there is similar access for men and women to their facilities. Therefore, if it is only men using the facilities, they will not qualify for a grant. Now, if there are regional grants or, indeed, if clubs get a top-up under the LSSIF in this round or are awarded it in a future LSSIF, they will have to publish a policy publicly demonstrating how there is similar access for men and women. We are putting that very strong burden on the bigger projects but every club that gets a grant will also have to certify this. If a camogie club in any part of the country is not able to find a pitch and there is some GAA club in that area that is getting a sports capital grant, that GAA club will have to certify that women have access to the facilities on a similar basis to men.
That is the critical thing.
(Interruptions).
That is what we said. To be honest, I hear these stories and then when I ask on the ground, people say, "It is grand here", and I know it is not. I am hearing that in the Seanad today. I have to say, though, I was talking to some representatives of the Camogie Association who told me that camogie clubs have been more involved this year with the sports capital programme than ever before in terms of signing licence agreements and all of that. They attributed that to this rule I brought in for sports capital, so I hope that has some impact. That is very important.
That also relates to having more women on the national boards which, contrary to some speculation, is not just for one sport but for every sporting organisation in the country. I welcome the decision of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association at the weekend to unanimously agree to change its constitution to allow for that. Almost all sports are there. It is 39% women on boards overall now in sporting organisations. We want to get up to 40% and I think that will happen.
I heard all the Senators' representations about sports capital and the LSSIF in their own areas. The last time, there was sufficient funding to make that happen. I certainly urge all colleagues to make that case to our colleagues in the Department of public expenditure in order that they are aware of the importance of this.
The issue of FAI funding was raised. At the moment, there is a sum of €6.8 million outstanding to the FAI from Sport Ireland for general funding, including a special allocation I made this year of €500,000 for women in sport in response to the Ireland team qualifying for their first ever world cup. We want to get that money to the FAI as soon as possible. Sport Ireland paused that money in order that the KOSI consultancy firm could conduct an audit to consider whether a memorandum of understanding, MOU, condition between the Government and the FAI regarding CEO remuneration was embedded in the FAI in 2022. I have spoken about this before, including in the Seanad. Last week, I met members of Sport Ireland to discuss the FAI's response to the KOSI audit. I acknowledge that the FAI has signalled its willingness to implement the recommendations set out in the audit. To be fair to the FAI, it has implemented almost everything in the memorandum of understanding. I want to say that. It has been 95% and that is really important. We are working things through in the Department in terms of the FAI's response but it is certainly my intention to be able to finalise this matter relatively soon.
The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and I just have to consider all the issues that have been brought before us by Sport Ireland and, indeed, the FAI's response. However, I am expecting and hoping for a positive outcome to this soon. It is important to remember that the FAI at the moment is getting double the funding it would ordinarily get because of the memorandum of understanding. Additionally, up to last year, we were also essentially paying the rent or payment that is due on the Aviva Stadium. That is not continuing. We want to make sure the FAI can stand on its own two feet. It is quite likely that there will be a continuation of the MOU path next year if the FAI needs and wants it.
We can enter into discussions about that once this particular issue is resolved.
I will speak generally about the issue of inclusion. Where there is inclusion of people with disabilities and indeed facilities for women in sport, they are given extra marks on sports capital. That is very important. Members have mentioned many projects I have visited and I am glad to have seen them. A point made by Senators Wall, Dooley and others, and one I have also made, is that we need more sports facilities. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I have been working on a plan to do that. That is really important. Some people criticise the sports capital programme, but overall it has been hugely successful. However, we do need more sports facilities. I am deeply conscious of that. We have started work at an official and ministerial level and I have had a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to progress this. That is something we would like to see some progress on. Local authorities have a role to play as well. In some cases, such as Tallaght Stadium, which Senator Warfield mentioned, that is a joint venture between the local authority and the Government. The Government has funded the overall Tallaght urban renewable project, which includes the new stand at Tallaght Stadium. I think we funded that to 75% and South Dublin County Council has put in 25%. I know Dalymount Park and Bohemian Football Club will be looking to Dublin City Council for a new stadium in the next round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, and I have no doubt a similar model will be part of a renewal of that general area.
The issue of volunteers was raised. I thank all our volunteers, and the Senators have acknowledged them here today. Sport could not exist without volunteers. The Louth local sports partnership, LSP, had the idea to have a volunteer awards night, and that was brilliant. I know other local sports partnerships will be looking at that too. This year, I attended the national sports volunteers awards, which is run by the Federation of Irish Sport. As far as I know, at the moment they are open for nominations. I am not sure if the date has closed yet, but Members can check that for themselves and if they know anyone in their communities, they should nominate them.
The number of volunteers has declined since Covid-19, so when I meet people or when I speak to groups of volunteers, I ask them, if they have not been in touch with their club or if they have drifted away a bit, to get back in touch, ring somebody up and get back to being involved. There will be no difficulty in getting back to being involved. We want them to be involved. There is a strategy being developed by Sport Ireland at the moment on volunteers in sport. That will have an impact.
The UEFA Euro 2028 was mentioned. I will not get into the day-to-day politics of it, but I will say it is really important and symbolic that on the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement we, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales will all be working together on an equal basis. Northern Ireland football is an equal partner in this venture as well. It is very important they grasp the opportunity, which I think they will. The reality is there will be big games in Belfast as well as in Dublin. They will be transformative for Belfast, Northern Ireland and the island. It is important and symbolic for the Irish Football Association, IFA, the FAI and Welsh and the Scottish football associations to all be working together, and we are very keen on a legacy benefit from that. As with all major sporting events we support, this is not just about the event itself, which will have an important tourism benefit. Apart from that, it is important more people will actually play the various sports.
Senator Warfield and others mentioned multi-use and multi-sports facilities. To be clear, they are already prioritised for sports capital through the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. If, for example, a club has a sports facility it does not let anybody else use, it will not gain marks in the scoring scheme. On the other hand, if it has these licence agreements with other clubs that will allow them to use it and include various other sports, that club will gain marks and that will give it an advantage in the area of sports capital.
To be clear about the large-scale sports infrastructure fund and the sports capital, I hope to announce the equipment grants in the early part of the new year and to announce the sports capital grants a bit later. I hope I will announce the large-scale sports infrastructure fund top-up in the coming weeks. There are one or two issues to tie up on that, but I do hope to announce a new round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund in conjunction with that. We will wait and see, but people are discussing that with me.
Is that for new applications?
That is what I am saying. I hope we will be in the position to do that in the coming weeks. We may not be ready to open applications in the coming weeks, but I at least hope to be able to signal that. There is ongoing engagement with the Department of public expenditure on that at the moment. We have to do that. We had to do it for sports capital and we now have to do it for the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I hope to be able to give that signal around the time we announce the top-up grants, which were only open to those who already had a grant designed to get these projects moving and account for some of the inflationary pressures.
(Interruptions).
The Minister of State without interruption, please.
(Interruptions).
The Minister of State has 13 seconds. If he wants to have a conversation, he can fire ahead.
A fantastic job has been done and I do not think anybody would ever be penalised for doing a fantastic job. Newbridge is the same. There are two projects that are under way: Dunboyne, which is my own area, and the running track in Newcastle West. They are among the very few that are being done. We want more of that.