Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
2. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the Government support and resources that are being provided to a sporting organisation (details supplied) to host an event, particularly in the context of infrastructure deficits in Irish football. [10148/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the context of what has happened in Ukraine this morning, I ask the Minister of State to give a sense of what his Department can do and what supports he can give to the Ukrainian community here in Ireland through the various organisations with which he has strong relationships.
My question relates to the proposed bid for the European championship football tournament in 2028, for which the FAI is co-bidding. What financial supports may his Department have to give in support of that bid?
Our solidarity, across Government and all Departments and agencies, goes out to the Ukrainian people after the shocking invasion we have seen overnight. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, has spoken this morning, as has the Taoiseach. All aspects of Government will be supporting the Ukrainian people and providing a humanitarian approach, where possible, but also working with our European partners on responding properly. There will be further meetings later today.
The football associations in the UK and Ireland recently indicated their intention to bid to host jointly the UEFA championships in 2028. Ireland was due to host part of the 2020 iteration of those championships. The Department worked closely with the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, in bidding for and preparing to host and I am well aware of the significance and scale of the tournament and what a positive experience it could be to host it jointly in 2028.
In terms of Government support for a potential bid to host the 2028 championships, while I and the Department are positively disposed to such a bid, we will need to have a clearer understanding of the costs and benefits of jointly hosting the event before committing to supporting a bid. To that end, the Department is engaging closely with the FAI to better evaluate the case for bidding for Euro 2028 and no commitments have been made at this point.
With regard to the Deputy's question about wider investment in sport facilities, my Department operates two schemes which provide grant assistance to sports organisations for the development and improvement of both sports stadia and facilities generally. The sports capital and equipment programme, SCEP, is the primary vehicle for Government support, with €1.1 billion being invested since 1998 and the programme for Government is committed to continuing to prioritise that investment, especially in disadvantaged areas.
In the 2020 round, there were more than 3,000 applications seeking more than €200 million in funding. On Friday, 11 February, the Minister, Deputy Martin, and I, announced 1,865 individual grant offers with a total value of more than €143.8 million.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Of this amount, almost €22 million or 15% of the funding was allocated to soccer. Tolka Park stadium has benefited from a number of SCEP grants previously and any future applications would be considered in line with the relevant scoring system and assessment procedures.
Funding is also provided by my Department to sports organisations under the largescale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The LSSIF is designed for projects where the grant sought is greater than the maximum available under the SCEP. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and, thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals.
Dublin City Council made an application under the LSSIF for a grant towards the design work associated with the redevelopment of Dalymount Park.
A provisional grant of €918,750 was announced in January 2020 towards the overall design cost, at that time estimated at €2.45 million. The actual cost of design work is now expected to be €1,357,757 to which an amount of €509,199 will be contributed by the LSSIF.
While the priority in the short term is to advance all of the successful projects, as it is now two years since the first allocations were made and in view of the issues faced by grantees as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was considered timely to review progress on all projects allocated grants. My Department has now met with all successful grantees and work is at an advanced stage in drafting the review. I expect this work to be finalised shortly. Once that review is complete, the scope for awarding any additional grants, adjusting the level of existing grants and the timing of any new call for proposals will be considered.
The nervousness that comes in from football people, who will have different viewpoints on this, is that major infrastructural deficits exist in Irish football. There is controversy over the Dalymount Park plan that is the heartbeat of Irish football, traditionally. There is controversy over what will happen to Tolka Park. One third of all League of Ireland footballers only have a junior certificate as a qualification. This is a much-loved and very important game. It is much-loved in the more disadvantaged areas of our country, which is probably why it has been so politically powerless, traditionally. There are so many needs within this game and deficits in the relationship between the State and the football communities in Ireland that the hosting of this tournament has to be questioned. I am glad to hear the Department is questioning the FAI's approach.
There is an examination of the cost benefit which is a prudent and appropriate thing to do. We will examine the ratio to see whether any potential bid will stack up. It is important not to put the investment in facilities beside the potential investment in securing the hosting of an event which could bring a multiple of benefits to Ireland. We know major events have a positive economic benefit.
We are committed to investment in grassroots sport. In the past two weeks, we announced the single biggest historic investment in grassroots sport and a multiple increase in investment in grassroots football clubs across the country. There is a significant spectrum of investment in grassroots structures of League of Ireland clubs in the past two weeks. In terms of the largescale sports infrastructure fund, we have an ongoing investment towards the design work on Dalymount Park and there has been some drawdown of that in order that it can progress that work.
We are way over time.
I do not have sufficient time to answer.
I appreciate that. The general point is that if one thinks about where football is, its interaction with the education system is minimal compared to other codes. There is greater energy and atmosphere around the League of Ireland than there has been for a number of years. I look forward to going to Dalymount Park on Friday evening to support Bohemian FC. The infrastructure around the League of Ireland is not perfect. It is only five years since the women's team effectively went on strike because of the lack of respect it was getting from within the association. We also know of all the controversies that have taken place heretofore.
Football is so important and so powerful. We have such diverse senior teams in women's and men's sides representing this country. A Traveller woman plays for the Irish women's team and a number of lads with various ethnic backgrounds play for the senior men's team. This is an exciting time for Irish football. The issue really is that we grab that and invest in a different way than with the big prize of hosting a big tournament, the benefits of which are unknown.
In my engagement with the FAI, I am absolutely committed to strengthening the League of Ireland. A huge growth in interest has been seen, but the Deputy is correct in saying we have an infrastructure deficit to address and we have to partner with many of the clubs in trying to remedy that.
I know the Deputy has done considerable work in the context of education and how we can strengthen that pathway for players, in parallel with the League of Ireland. I am committed to doing much work there and I am absolutely committed to trying to strengthen both the grassroots aspect of football and the League of Ireland infrastructure which needs investment. That is why we see funding streams, even through the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. Work is ongoing there and I accept we need to do more.
However, it is not a question of either-or. Potentially hosting a major event could bring significant economic benefit to the country. There could be huge North-South and east-west benefits. I argue there is scope to explore both properly in order that it has a meaningful impact-----
We are over time.
-----on the broader economy but also on our commitment to developing League of Ireland infrastructure.
Táimid thar am. Tá mé ag bogadh ar aghaidh.
