Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 May 2004
246 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will consider introducing a community based nationally organised sporting and recreational facility with a view to meeting the requirements of children to teenagers at community level and including indoor and outdoor facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15679/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that, since 1998, under the national lottery-funded sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, funding of €321 million has been allocated to 4,250 projects, providing a range of high quality indoor and outdoor facilities across a wide spectrum of sports and activities which can be enjoyed and utilised by people of all age groups, interest and levels of participation. This generous allocation has ensured that almost every parish, town and city in the country has benefited from funding under the programme.
The sports capital programme places particular emphasis on the provision of facilities in areas designated as disadvantaged, with such projects requiring a reduced level of local funding contribution and also benefiting from extra marks during the assessment process of the application for funding. Many of the projects funded to date that were designated as disadvantaged under the RAPID and local drugs task force programmes are specifically targeted towards providing sports and recreational facilities for youth in these areas.
Under the local authority swimming pool programme, which is also administered by my Department, a total of €40 million has been paid since 1998 on the provision of new pools and the refurbishment of existing pools, which are very important in providing sport and leisure opportunities for all members of the community, including children and teenagers. The provision in my Department's 2004 Estimates for the swimming pool programme is €15 million.
My Department also funded the National Aquatic Centre at Abbotstown, which last year hosted the swimming events of the Special Olympics world summer games and the European short course swimming championships and is a key facility in the context of our high performance strategy for elite competitors as well as for clubs, learners and fun swimmers.
In January 2004 the Government committed itself to the development of a sports campus at Abbotstown. A phased and prioritised programme to deliver the component elements of the campus is now being developed by Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Limited, CSID. The scale of the campus is such that it can accommodate the requirements of sporting organisations for high quality pitches and training facilities for both amateur and ranking team sports. This should be of benefit not only to major sports organisations but also to our minority sports groups and to the individual athlete whose need for modern facilities is so important. I have given a commitment to provide the necessary funds to meet the sporting infrastructural requirements, which will be identified in the context of the Abbotstown plan. I am satisfied that the Government is meeting the demand for sporting and recreational facilities for youth around the country through its provision of enhanced funding for sport and within the current range of programmes.
