Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If a club or sports organisation got a grant in the last three to five years, will the Minister put time period into the scheme during which such a club would be ineligible? I am sure every Deputy and Senator in this room has been dealing with sporting organisations and helping them to fill in their application forms. Given that there were 2,300 applicants, if a body got money in the last three to five years, making it ineligible would give everyone an opportunity of getting money going forward.

It should also apply to any club or organisation that received a grant in the last number of years and did not draw down the full amount of money. This would give all the others a chance. I agree with the Chairman, It would be very unfair if new applicants next year did not get a fair shot. I know organisations that were not ready to put in their applications this year and when clubs or organisations put in their application it has to be virtually fully correct. I believe that the amount of organisations that are qualified for the scheme this time is pretty high.

In fairness, applying for the sports capital grant this year was probably one of the easiest processes I have ever come across. There used to be a 24 page application. The Minister did listen and I do not think many clubs or organisations had problems filling in the applications this year. The support we got from the Minister was very good.

We should try to give as many people as we can a fair crack of the whip of getting these sports capital grants. If an organisation got it in the last three to five years or did not draw down their money, it would be fair to consider that as a factor. In other words a club would be penalised for not drawing down its money as would clubs that already got something, giving other clubs an opportunity to get something. This would make it a little fairer.