Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2023
79. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when applications will be open for the sports capital programme 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8534/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra84. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if the new sports capital round has considered a protected pot of money for rapidly growing neighbourhoods, particularly in new areas where there is no strong network of clubs in place; and if the next round will soon be opened. [8394/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra86. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the likely timeline for the next sports capital and equipment programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8531/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra91. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which the awarding of further sports grants is anticipated in the coming year; the extent to which those who were beneficiaries in the past three years and found themselves unable to complete the works can be accommodated with a time extension or top-up; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8522/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra94. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the publication date of the review of the most recent round of the sports capital and equipment programme; when the next round of the sports capital and equipment programme will open to new applicants in Kerry and other counties; the budget that will be available for this programme; if she will provide a breakdown per county of allocations in the most recent round; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8620/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the time for questions is almost up, I ask the Deputies to ask their question and the Minister of State will then reply. I call Deputy Dillon and then Deputy Durkan, who will have one minute each.
Last year, an allocation of €150 million was divided between clubs, schools, community groups, associations and sporting bodies all over the country. It was one of the biggest ever cash injections for grassroots sports in the history of the State and was very welcome. I understand a full review is taking place of the sports capital programme and it will be published shortly. When will the applications open for 2023-24? Last week, we learned of the closure of the immigrant investor programme to future applicants. This came as a hammer blow for many sporting organisations that would have sought to present an application for large-scale or medium-scale capital projects. There is certainly an appetite out there to get applications ready. I would appreciate an update on the review.
On the same lines, we should not underestimate the importance of the sports capital grants, major and minor, for the various clubs throughout the country, given the tremendous work they have done, and the tremendous enjoyment and participation in sports that have accrued from it.
I have two issues. Because of the difficulties with Covid in recent years, costs have gone up and estimates may now be a little stale in some cases. I ask that incentives be given, if possible, to clubs that were unable to close off their particular contracts over the past year or so, where a top-up might be of great assistance. I also ask the Minister of State to take into account the importance of ensuring that stresses arising from population demand and the demography of the area be taken into account, and also areas where there is scant investment in sports facilities.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 79, 84, 86, 91 and 94 together.
I thank all Deputies who have raised this issue, and I know Sinn Féin tabled a question on this earlier. On the previous question, a Sinn Féin Deputy was looking for the scheme to be abolished, although, in fairness, he had other proposals so I am not going to entirely disrespect that. Nonetheless, we are not going to abolish it or change it. It is a great scheme. It gives funding to clubs that use it within communities, which is very important.
The review is basically complete and I intend to publish it shortly, and there was a meeting last week to finalise the review. Any recommendations from the review will be reflected in the next round. Officials are engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and myself are engaging with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. Once this process is concluded, as is normal with any capital spending of this nature, I will announce the exact dates from which new applications will be accepted. With regard to the funding available to allocate, I will continue to engage with colleagues to maximise the total funding available for programming in the year ahead. Clearly, the level of demand is a key determinant but every effort will be made to fund as many worthwhile projects as possible while providing a sufficient level of grant to ensure projects are viable.
The issues of disadvantage, equality and participation, and the issues of population increase and lack of facilities in certain areas, are all important for the sports capital programme. In the previous programme, clubs in every constituency did very well, and it was not just the clubs that did well but also the communities they serve.
We are going to have a summer of strong interest in women's sport in particular. I hope and expect that will lead to an increase in female participation in sport, which is going to put pressure on facilities, and we have to rise to that challenge, as do NGBs and the clubs themselves. That will probably be a particularly important focus in the sports capital programme this year. We will let the Deputies know when we have made a final decision.
