Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

Under the sports capital programme, SCP, funding is allocated to sporting, voluntary and community organisations at local, regional and national level. A total of €33 million has been provided in the Department's Vote in the 2011 Estimates to meet payments in respect of projects that have been allocated funding under the SCP.

More than 1,000 payments were made last year to projects being developed throughout the country. These projects will allow clubs to drain pitches, erect floodlighting, buy non-personal sports equipment, build changing rooms and sports halls and generally increase opportunities for people to engage in sports at all levels. Since 1998, the Department has allocated almost €740 million in more than 7,400 separate allocations. This funding has transformed the standard of sports facilities throughout the country.

In allocating this funding, special targeting and prioritisation is given to projects in RAPID, CLÁR and local drugs task force areas. These projects are permitted to have a lower minimum level of self-funding — 20% for projects in CLÁR areas and 10% for projects in RAPID and local drugs task force areas compared with the normal 30% — and they may also receive extra marks during the assessment process.

In the most recent rounds of the SCP in 2008, successful projects in RAPID areas also qualified for additional top-up funding of up to 30% of their SCP allocations, payable by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, in addition to their sports capital allocations. Through these measures, the SCP has invested more than €150 million in projects which are either in or serving designated disadvantaged areas. In turn, top-up arrangements from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in RAPID and CLÁR areas have allowed further allocations of more than €22 million to be made.

Deputies will be aware that on Tuesday, 29 March, the Government made an order for the transfer of functions from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with effect from 1 April 2011. The matter of a new round of the SCP will fall for consideration to my colleagues, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and his Minister of State.

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