Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 April 2024
7. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when an announcement in respect of financial assistance for sporting organisations is anticipated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16936/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra13. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the progress to date in rolling out the most recently announced sports capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16979/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra24. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an update on this year's sports capital grants and a timeline on when decisions will be made; if she will outline future funding plans for large-scale sports infrastructure funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16984/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra26. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the sports capital grants for 2024 will be announced for clubs in counties Cavan and Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16701/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra39. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when she expects the sports capital grants to be announced. [16691/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra43. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for an update on the latest round of the sports capital and equipment programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16693/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra44. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for an update on the sports capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16364/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question seeks to ascertain the current position in relation to sporting and other grants under the various headings mentioned, the degree to which cognisance will be taken of the need in each case, and how soon.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 13 , 24, 26, 39, 43 and 44 together.
The sports capital and equipment programme 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 to over €1.15 billion. The programme for Government commits to continuing the sports capital programme and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas and groups that are currently underrepresented in terms of participation.
The 2023 round of the sports capital programme closed for applications on 8 September. The round contained a number of changes from previous rounds. We increased the thresholds for local and regional grants to €200,000 and €500,000, respectively. We are specifically rewarding projects which include adaptations for persons with disabilities. We are prioritising applications from areas witnessing significant population growth. We are rewarding projects which incorporate climate action measures. We are including upgrades to swimming pools. There are greater linkages between the level of own funding required. The 40% gender balance at national board level has to be complied with, or else there will be a 50% cut. Also, every facility that gets funding from this Government will have to have similar access for men and women. Examination of the submitted applications demonstrates the 2023 programme generated a large number of applications.
A Leas-Chathaoirligh, the clock seems slightly different than normal.
The Minister of State has extra time because the questions are grouped.
Gabh mo leithscéal. I was afraid that was the total for all the questions.
He should feel free not to use it.
He could give it to me.
I would prefer to use the time provided for this issue than for some other issues. The total number of 3,210 applications exceeds the record from the previous round and the money sought shows an 80% increase over the amount applied for in the last round. The scoring system has been published. Detailed work is ongoing on equipment-only applications. We hope to announce these equipment-only grants in the early part of next month. Allocations for the rest will be announced later in the year.
The Minister and I have also confirmed a new round of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF, will open shortly. The dates and terms and conditions will be published on the Department’s website in due course. While this programme is aimed primarily at the national governing bodies, NGBs, of sport and local authorities, it is also open to other people to apply, but applications would necessarily have to be made and prioritised by a local authority and an NGB. It is my intention to include education and training boards in that as well.
On 3 April the Minister and I published the review of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund and the new similar access requirement. The review outlines the issues faced by LSSIF projects to date and provides recommendations on a new round. The new similar access requirement necessitates that recipients of LSSIF funding must accommodate the needs of women and men on a similar basis with respect to accessing facilities that have been allocated public funding. Any organisation in receipt of LSSIF funding must have a similar access policy in place. I am very proud of this new initiative, which I announced here in the Dáil. We have now drawn up a detailed set of guidelines on that. Every single application for sports funding over €200,000 will have to publish this policy. That includes those projects that were awarded funding before Christmas as part of the top-up for the LSSIF. If they do not publish that policy, they will get zero funding.
The Government recently agreed revised capital allocations under the NDP totalling €2.25 billion out to 2026. There was an additional allocation of capital funding for our Department and that will support key projects and programmes under the NDP, such as the sports capital and equipment programme and the large-scale infrastructure fund. I am confident this revised capital allocation, which we only agreed a few weeks ago, will allow for significant funding of both the 2023 round of the sports capital and equipment programme and the forthcoming round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I expect the Minister and I will confirm the overall allocation for the next round of sports capital in the near future in the context of the assessment of applications currently under way.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply, especially on new initiatives and the degree to which the Department is assisting in the development of facilities needed by communities in all areas. I ask about the extent to which the scoring will be influenced by increased populations, particularly with respect to areas that have experienced major increases in population in recent years. I am thinking of my constituency, which is not an unnatural thing to do in this House. I also ask about swimming pools, which are a matter that is, again, relevant in my constituency. I ask the Minister of State to bear this in mind. Since the swimming pool at St. Patrick's College was closed about six years ago, there has been no pool for a huge student and local population.
The last point I will make relates to the impact of Covid and the extent to which it will be possible to address that issue by way of a look back.
I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State on rolling out a very comprehensive sports capital programme. It is to be hoped those applications can be processed and approved at the earliest possible date. We are all aware of the huge commitment of the many volunteers in our sporting clubs across all disciplines throughout the country. People work very hard to provide coaching facilities and to ensure that young people and older people have access to the sport they wish to participate in. Even in areas where the population is smaller, there is substantial additional demand for playing facilities and playing surfaces. I come across clubs in the county where I live that do not have enough pitches for the number of teams they have. As the Minister of State said in his initial reply, the sports capital programme is very much aimed at equal participation by ladies and men. I very much welcome that. It is happening in every GAA, soccer and rugby club that I am aware of.
There are significant costs in providing new facilities. When I speak to clubs that were awarded grants a few years ago, it is unbelievable how much the costs of carrying out work have risen. When allocating and finalising approvals, I sincerely hope that up-to-date costs are factored into that assessment.
Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as a phost nua. He will not die of shock when I once again bring up the case of Dundalk FC. As regards soccer, things are not going particularly well for us at present but we will hopefully see a turnaround in the near future. The League of Ireland is absolutely flying. Dundalk FC has submitted a regional sports capital application that is supported by the FAI. It relates to doing up the club's floodlighting, which has not been done up since 1967 or something like that, and upgrading the pitch. These are both necessary pieces of work.
I will come back to the matter of large-scale sports infrastructure funding in my supplementary question because that is where the shooting match is, alongside private funding, in delivering. I will also highlight a couple of soccer teams. Shamrocks FC is looking for something fairly small - we are talking lawnmower stuff - but Glenmuir FC has something far more significant. We are talking about accessibility, renewals and a walkway. Clan na Gael is a GAA club-----
The Deputy will get a chance to come back in.
-----that is closely looking at ladies' football and all the added costs related to that.
This is not like ladies' football.
I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for the work they are doing in the Department and the support they have given to clubs throughout the country in the past number of years. I expect that will continue. This is about more than sport and competition because every one of these clubs are so knitted into the fabric of our communities. They are so important in the co-benefits they bring to our communities. As others have done, I will reference some of the clubs in my community that are looking for funding, which I hope can be supported. St. Michael's Rowing Club is looking for funding for equipment. Limerick Lawn Tennis Club, Shelbourne Athletic Football Club and Caherdavin Celtic are also looking for funding, as are many more on the list. I hope the Minister of State can support them in their applications for funding this year.
The Deputies have all raised issues that are dear to my heart and, I am sure, dear to the heart of the Minister. A lot of work has been done over recent weeks in discussing with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, what the outlook will be. I think the outlook will be positive but I caution that there is a lot of work to do in the Department on the assessment of applications. The most important priority is disadvantage. We will not forget that. The disadvantaged clubs are the ones that need the funding more than any others. This goes back to the scoring system issue raised by Deputy Durkan. Clubs that have never applied will get an advantage in the scoring system, which is publicly available. It is a transparent process. I have added increased population as a factor in that regard. That is being worked out between the Department and Pobal as well.
The proposed swimming pool in Maynooth is not in my constituency, but I am happy to say that many of my constituents would benefit if there were a swimming pool in Maynooth. The key point is that would be a large-scale sports infrastructure funded project. Kildare County Council would have to apply for that funding. I strongly encourage Deputy Durkan to talk to the council about that project. We will open the large-scale sport infrastructure fund in the coming weeks. That project will have to be prioritised for my Department to consider it.
On Deputy Brendan Smith's question, we see clubs as the lifeblood of communities in small rural areas. That is very important and we will never forget it. Many of those rural areas have disadvantaged status on Pobal maps, which is very important. We certainly will not forget that. Significant work is involved with all those volunteers.
Deputy Ó Murchú talked about Dundalk FC and a number of soccer and GAA clubs, in addition to boxing clubs in Dundalk. We certainly want to see football do well. We put huge effort in with the FAI last summer to encourage football clubs to apply. More football clubs applied than ever before and they are looking for a bigger share of the overall ask. I have no doubt that football clubs will do well. I only wish more of them applied to the sports capital fund.
Deputy Leddin mentioned various clubs and the equipment grants. Those grants will be announced in the coming weeks. He mentioned a number of clubs and soccer clubs in particular. We put significant effort into making sure soccer clubs applied because they did not always apply. However, that has changed this year. There is no doubt about that.
I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for a very comprehensive layout of the proposals. The point I will mention in passing is that due to the hold-up during Covid, many clubs had work in hand that they were not able to complete. A provision has already been made in relation to that. Will it be borne in mind that there may still be a number of clubs that have not been able to complete their works in accordance with their original plans? Will some consideration be given to their particular plight?
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I again advocate for the regions with regard to large-scale projects. He is familiar with the project we are working on in County Cavan. It will be multi-sport and will cater for many sporting disciplines. As the Minister of State is well aware, there are no major sporting centres between counties Sligo and Dublin and Belfast and Galway. A centre in Cavan could cater for people from three provinces - Ulster, Connacht and Leinster. It would be an ideal place for competitions to be held and for people to access sport. I hope that the Minister of State will lay a particular emphasis on large-scale projects being multi-sport facilities catering for different sporting disciplines, such as the proposed project in Cavan, which would cater for a multitude of sports.
I welcome what the Minister of State said. Assessment on the basis of disadvantage is obviously a necessity. A number of the clubs I mentioned fall into that bracket, as do the kids that go to them. If I were to name every club, or even every club in disadvantaged areas in Dundalk, we would be here for a considerable time. I should have mentioned Clann Naofa Boxing Club, where I boxed very badly. I might not be forgiven if I did not mention that club.
I will go back to the matter of large-scale sports infrastructure funding. Will the 80% increase in sports capital impact on that funding? We all want more people to apply but are we looking at that? We all know the necessity of it. It is a matter of getting a notion of the timeline for large-scale sports infrastructure funding, and making sure those groups and organisations, including the likes of Dundalk FC or whoever, can see exactly what is necessary from the point of view of being able to do the business when it actually happens. We have all seen clubs miss out on funding due to lack of preparedness. We need to make sure we facilitate them as much as possible.
I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their great work. Many clubs throughout the country are eagerly waiting for the sporting grants. There are far too many of those clubs in my constituency to mention. However, the one area I am very interested in is the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. I represent Sligo Rovers in the north west. I was in Tallaght Stadium last Friday night. The result was not great but the stadium was absolutely fantastic. It was provided courtesy of South Dublin County Council. We want that parity of esteem in the north west and in Sligo. The Minister and the Minister of State have been in the showgrounds in Sligo. We want to have a stadium that lives up to the name, the showgrounds. I look forward to when that large-scale sports infrastructure fund will be there. I want to make sure that Sligo and the north west are included in it. Sligo Rovers is a community-owned club that is part of the community.
It serves men, women and the whole community. I look forward to a favourable result when that scheme is up and running.
I agree with the previous speaker on the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. There is a question on that fund coming up and I would like to contribute on that as well, if I may.
I reiterate the importance of the sports capital programme for our communities. If we were not investing as we are and have been over a number of years, that counterfactual scenario would not be very positive. I commend the Ministers on the supports they have given to clubs right across the country. I can see it in my city of Limerick and in the clubs I mentioned in my earlier contribution. We are really leveraging the goodwill and hard work of volunteers in our community. The benefit of that goodwill and hard work to our society is invaluable. The investment in terms of euros may come to millions, and it is right that it is in the millions, but the benefit is many multiples of that.
I am glad Deputy Leddin mentioned the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. As Deputy Leddin, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and some other Deputies will be aware, the redevelopment at Walsh Park in Waterford was one of the biggest recipients of sport funding in the country in living memory. Some €7.7 million was allocated to Walsh Park for the redevelopment of the stadium. I was down there and it is very positive to see what is happening. It is also one of the first projects to draw down all of that funding, including the top-up of €3.3 million last year, and to be required to publish a policy showing that men and women have similar access to the facilities. This is a radical move. I am sure it presents no difficulties for the three county boards in Waterford but it is very positive.
Deputy Feighan mentioned Sligo Rovers. As he will know, I have been to its grounds and have also seen Sligo play at my home club. Sligo Rovers have a very impressive set-up. We would certainly welcome applications from the club. However, as with all projects under the LSSIF, the project would have to be prioritised by the FAI or Sligo County Council. That is how the process works. That is to give a bit of transparency and to show that projects are not just being chosen from Dublin. Deputies Feighan and Smith both mentioned the importance of the regions. We absolutely get that. It is a great priority for us.
Deputy Smith also mentioned multisport facilities. That is the way we want to go. We incentivise that under the sports capital system. If two clubs genuinely come together in a joint venture, they qualify for regional status. Where a community facility is used for more than one sport, we are prepared to give it regional status.
Deputy Ó Murchú mentioned a number of clubs in Dundalk, some of which I have visited. I understand the level of disadvantage there and the level of support that is needed. I was in a boxing club and the work it is doing is absolutely incredible.
To respond to Deputy Durkan, we gave top-ups under the large-scale sport infrastructure fund because of the problems Covid caused for those grants. In this round of sports capital funding, we have increased the thresholds because we know that the Covid pandemic resulted in a lot of inflation over recent years.
