Niall Collins
Ceist:9Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport the basis for distributing local authority sporting grants in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23055/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 9 May 2012
Ceisteanna (9)
Freagraí ó Béal (15 píosaí cainte)
Allocations were made in 2011 under a special local authority sports capital initiative and also under an initiative for local authority swimming pools to improve access for people with disabilities and to make the pools more energy efficient. The sports capital initiative, which was developed following discussions with the County and City Managers Association, allocated funding to projects that could increase participation in sports. All local authorities were invited to submit applications for funding and every application received was assessed according to criteria set out in the letter to local authorities inviting applications. All eligible applications were allocated funding. In total 111 separate allocations were made with a total value of €4.5 million.
The swimming pools allocations were also made on foot of an invitation to local authorities to submit applications to improve access for people with disabilities and/or to make pools more energy efficient. In total 56 pools were allocated funding of €10.9 million.
If I understand the Minister correctly, 110 applications were successful. Does the Minister have the number of applications made? This question has been tabled because of the concern, which is not a new phenomenon, that sports capital funding has been assigned to constituencies or counties where there is a Minister. I do not want to get into the politics of it but Mayo came out particularly well on this occasion. I am sure the Minister has information on the distribution of funds in the past that point to other Ministers from my side of the House. The Government came to power and said it would do things differently and that there would be a more transparent approach to the dispersal of funds. Either the Minister accepts the previous practice was fair and equitable and it was coincidental that constituencies and counties with senior Ministers were more successful because they were better able to apply for grants or the Minister has decided to adopt a practice that was heretofore unacceptable.
Deputy Dooley should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers. Having been a Government party Member, I am sure he was amused by some of what he read in the newspaper, as I am now. Some 111 applications were eligible and all eligible applications were granted funding. Twice as many were ineligible. Of the applications from County Clare, funding was granted to Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park in Ennis, which was eligible. Three other applications were not eligible. In two cases, the town council did not have title to land and in the third case, Kilrush, the land was owned by the ESB. Very often, applications were not allowed because the applicant did not own the land or the project would not have been completed by the end of the year, as was required in order to gain funding.
On a per capita basis, Sligo received the most funding, at €19.93. Sligo does not have a senior Minister although it has a Minister of State.
Deputy Perry has considerable clout. I jest.
The second highest was Leitrim at €17.49per capita.
That is down to me.
Leitrim is divided between two constituencies and there is no Government Deputy resident in Leitrim even though it is represented by Deputies from Roscommon and Sligo.
It is well represented.
Mayo came third, well behind at €10.76per capita and Cavan, which has no Minister or Minister of State, came fourth at €9.60 per capita. Or a raw cash basis, Dublin got most as the most populous, at €1.74 million, followed by Cork, the second most populous, at €1.41 million. Everything that is in the newspapers may be the truth but not the whole truth. The past two Ministers with responsibility for sport made allocations proportionate to the populations of counties. Perhaps that was not the case for those who preceded the last two Ministers.
If the Government is redistributing money unfairly, it learned well from its predecessors. On the issue of local authority grants, if a local authority such as Wexford County Council gives a builder over €500,000 to build a road for a development that may happen in the future, does the funding come from the local authority or from central funding?
Swimming pools are one of my favourite topics. Did Roscommon County Council apply for funding to open the swimming pool all year round last year? Has it applied this year? I understand it has but I would like to hear it from the horse's mouth.
I do not know the answer to Deputy Wallace's question. It depends on the road in question. I do not know the answer to Deputy Luke ‘Ming' Flanagan's question but I undertake to ensure the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, responds to him in correspondence.
If the Minister gives us funds, he will show that it is not all about having a Minister.
There will be some initial allocation to swimming pools that were not funded last year. The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, will announce it this week.
Even to people the Government does not like.