Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2018
219. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a sports club that does not own the land on which it operates is adversely affected when applying for the sports capital grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17003/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment.
Over recent years, the SCP has invested several hundred million euro into sports facilities throughout the country. It is prudent for the Department to ensure that any organisation receiving capital funding can guarantee that any facilities developed with SCP funding will stay in sporting use. At application stage, such a guarantee is provided by way of a template, filled out and signed by the applicant's solicitor confirming ownership of the site where the proposed development is taking place.
Where the applicant does not own their land or have a long lease, a smaller capital grant (€25,000 in the case of the 2017 round of the SCP) can still be applied for. In these cases the property owner must fill out a template confirming continued access to property for a minimum of five years.
It is also open for any club or organisation to apply for funding for sports equipment up to the maximum level of grant (under the 2017 round of the SCP this equated to €150,000 for local projects and €200,000 for regional projects) even if the applicant does not have title to the property in question. In these cases the owner of the land is simply required to confirm that he/she has no intention of taking the facility away from the applicant for a minimum of five years.
