I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 to 245, inclusive, together.
The national lottery funded sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The programme is advertised on an annual basis. Applications for funding under the 2005 programme were invited through advertisements in the press on 5 and 6 December last. The closing date for receipt of applications was 4 February.
A total of 1,362 applications were received before the deadline. Of these, 56 applications were for projects located in County Tipperary, including one from each of the organisations in question. All applications received before the closing date are being evaluated against the programme's assessment criteria, which are outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme. I intend to announce the grant allocations for the programme as soon as possible after the assessment process has been completed.
My Department will then write to all applicants informing them of the outcome of the assessment of their application; in the case of successful applicants informing them of the conditions to be met to draw down their grant and, in the case of unsuccessful applicants, enclosing a copy of the assessment conducted on their application, including the score and explanatory comments.
