Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lombard for raising this matter. I am here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, to respond and provide an update.

The sports capital and equipment programme, 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. Grants are available to: voluntary, not-for-profit sports clubs and community groups; national governing bodies of sport, NGBs; and local authorities. Third level colleges, education and training boards, ETBs, and schools may apply for funding provided that they do so jointly with external sports clubs or community organisations.

More than 13,000 projects have benefited from sports capital funding since 1998. The total allocation during that period stands at more than €1.15 billion. The programme for Government contains a commitment to continuing the SCEP and prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas. The 2020 round of the SCEP attracted 3,106 applications, with a total of €166.6 million allocated. Bandon Athletic Club has drawn down almost all of its allocation of €290,000 under that programme. I commend all associated with the club on their work. It was huge effort on a community and voluntary basis by members of the club.

The latest round of the SCEP - that is, for 2023 - closed for applications on Friday, 8 September 2023 and generated a record number of 3,210 applications. There are more than 350 applications from County Cork alone, seeking €40.5 million in total. In respect of athletics in Cork, applications have been received from Bandon Athletic Club, Bweeng Community Hall and Grounds CLG, Carraig na bhFear Athletic Club, Carrigaline Rugby and Athletics Partnership Company Limited, Munster Technological University - the athletics track facility, Durrus Athletic Club, Muinefliuch National School and St. Catherine’s Athletic Club.

The scoring system and assessment manual for the 2023 round has been finalised and published along with a list of all applications received by county including the relevant sport type for each application received. The detailed assessment work has commenced and equipment-only applications have been assessed first. I understand that the Minister and the Minister of State plan to announce these grants in the coming weeks. Work will then commence on assessing the capital applications, with the allocations to be announced later in the year.

Separately, the national sports policy, published in 2018, provided for the establishment of the large scale sport infrastructure fund, known as LSSIF. The aim of the fund is to provide support for large sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP. In December, the Minister and the Minister of State announced additional funding amounting to €37.6 million to 27 existing LSSIF projects, bringing the total awarded to date under the fund to €124 million. This additional funding for projects was provided in response to delays experienced by grantees arising from the pandemic and construction inflation.

One of the largest projects funded to date under the LSSIF is the Athletics Ireland and Munster Technological University - formerly Cork Institute of Technology - community sport project for the development of: an arena, phase 1; track upgrade, phase 2; and a high-performance athletic centre, phase 3, on the Bishopstown, Cork campus of the university. The project was awarded LSSIF moneys of €9.225 million in January 2020. It was awarded additional funding of €5.094 million in December of last year, bringing the total allocation for this project under the LSSIF to €14.3 million for all three phases. Phase 1 has been completed. Phase 2, the track upgrade, is due to be completed this summer. Preparatory work on phase 3 is progressing.A new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the first half of 2024, with the dates, terms and conditions to be confirmed in the coming weeks. While the LSSIF programme is aimed primarily at the sports NGBs and the local authorities, it is also open to other bodies, philanthropic funders, clubs and voluntary organisations to apply. However, such applications would necessarily have to be made and prioritised by a local authority, a governing body, or both.