Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
337. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will provide an update on when the next round of sports capital funding will be open for applications. [32782/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra338. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will provide information on all facility upgrade grants which are currently available to sports clubs. [32783/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 338 together.
In relation to capital support, my Department provides grant assistance for sporting facilities through the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).The SCEP is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March 2021 and by the deadline a record 3,106 applications were submitted. The final allocations under the 2020 round were announced on 31 May last year and the total allocation of €166.6 million represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. Details of all allocations can be found on the Department's website.
The priority in recent months has been to advance the successful applications, which number almost 2,900, under the 2020 round to "formal approval" and grant drawdown stage. This requires detailed, ongoing engagement with all grantees.
Following completion of the appeal process, my Department commenced a full review of all aspects of the 2020 round of the SCEP. This Review has now been published and is available on the Department’s website.
Among the recommendations contained in the published Review is a continued prioritisation of projects that share facilities with other sports and further enhanced investment in areas of disadvantage. The Review also identifies new areas for consideration including:
• an increase in thresholds for capital grants at both local and regional level• rewarding projects which include adaptations for persons with disabilities through ring-fenced scores at assessment stage• rewarding projects which incorporate climate action measures• expanding the SCEP remit to include applications for upgrades to swimming pools, and • prioritising applications from areas witnessing significant population growth.
Now that the Review has been published, I have asked my officials to draft the "Guide to Making an Application" for the 2023 round to reflect the recommendations in the Review and I hope to have this finalised shortly. Once completed, the Guide will be published on my Department's website and I will then announce the exact date on which the SCEP will open for applications.
With regard to larger projects, the National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of the LSSIF. The aim of the fund is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP. The first allocations were announced in January 2020 and approximately €86.4 million has been allocated to 33 projects. The projects that received provisional allocations and the amounts provisionally awarded to them are published on the Department's website.
The first LSSIF allocations were announced just prior to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic obviously gave rise to significant financial challenges for all grantees with many of them having to reprioritise their own expenditure plans due to reductions in their income streams. In more recent times, the high level of construction inflation has also presented considerable challenges for grantees.
In view of these issues, it was considered timely to review progress on all projects that were allocated grants and meetings with all grantees have taken place. It is encouraging that, based on these discussions with grantees, over half of the 33 projects should be in a position to draw down funding this year. While this progress is very welcome, these discussions also confirm that some projects in receipt of LSSIF grants may not proceed in the short to medium term. In view of this, Minister Martin and I are currently considering, and engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in this context, whether additional resources could be provided to projects in need of further assistance and whether a new round of the LSSIF could be opened in due course.
I expect that my Department will be in further contact with existing grantees shortly and that the timing and terms and conditions of any new round of the LSSIF will be announced in due course.
