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Sports Capital Programme Administration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Ceisteanna (46)

Martin Heydon

Ceist:

46. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of a new sports capital programme; when it will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25280/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)

When will the new round of sports capital grants open this year? The grants are important for sports clubs that are planning development. The programme has had a positive impact on Kildare South clubs, and many are lining up to apply again. Can I have an update on that?

Has the Deputy projects in mind?

Every Member has a few projects in mind.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter again. Along with many other Deputies, he has been a great champion of the sports capital programme. The Government allocated more than €60 million to more than 1,800 projects throughout the country under the 2017 programme. The Minister and I were delighted to do that, particularly with an increased budget.

A review of the 2017 programme has been finalised and is available on the Department's website. The review highlights aspects of the 2017 round that worked well, but also suggests further improvements that are currently being prioritised for consideration prior to the opening of the next round of the programme. Some of these changes will also require amendments to the Department's online application process and they have commenced.

The good news I have to announce is that formal sanction was received in recent days from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to open a new round of the programme. Accordingly, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I expect to make an announcement on the timing of this round in the coming weeks. Some €40 million will be available for the 2018 programme, and all clubs and organisations registered on the Department's online application system will be notified at that time. I very much look forward to engaging with all Members on delivering that programme, as I have done in the past. It has a great impact on clubs and organisations on the ground, and we very much look forward to getting that money into communities in order that these organisations can improve their sporting infrastructure for everybody's benefit.

I thank the Minister of State for his positive response. It is great to hear that the programme will reopen soon. The sum of €40 million, an increase from last year, is a great resource for which the clubs can apply.

As we enter into the new process, I wish to ask about the lessons learned from the last one, and the sore and contentious issue of those clubs whose applications were deemed invalid. I discussed this with the Minister of State privately, and he shared my frustrations. Those decisions were disappointing for clubs that invested a great deal of time and effort in filling out the applications. It is hard on the individuals who volunteered to do that and who sometimes gets caught in the middle, along with the local politician, and is blamed for something falling through. At times, that can be because of a technical point. We need a system whereby if a club's application is deemed invalid, it is told early on and given a brief opportunity to rectify it, and the error is either sorted or it is not. We should not drag them through the process, not knowing until the last day when everyone else's result is announced. In particular, I refer to two clubs in Kildare South whose applications were deemed invalid in 2017 - Cill Dara Rugby Football Club, with which the Ceann Comhairle will be familiar, and Clogherinkoe GAA club. I hope they will be facilitated in the new process, taking into account the difficult process they went through last year.

I thank the Deputy. Great progress was made in the 2017 programme in cutting down the number of invalid applications. In 2012, 48% of applications were invalid while in the 2014 and 2015 rounds, the percentage was in the mid-thirties. It reduced to approximately 20% in 2017 and, for the first time, we had an appeals process for applicants that felt they were harshly adjudicated and their applications wrongly invalidated. That resulted in a further €2.3 million worth of allocations for applicants.

One of the key aspects of the 2018 programme is that no organisation will have its application ruled invalid without having a second chance to rectify the matters raised. That will be positive because, as the Deputy mentioned, one of the key frustrations for volunteers over the years has been disqualification of applications for a minor infraction of the rules. By giving people a second chance to set the application right before it is adjudicated on will give everybody a day at the races. After that, they can be adjudicated on based on the number of points they achieve under our scoring criteria.

I thank the Minister of State. That sounds sensible.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
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