John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I will be brief. I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department for outlining the issues with the sports capital funding. I think everybody acknowledges that it has played a key role in improving facilities for sports clubs for all the different sports around the country. It has really made a difference and increased participation. I am interested in the comment the Minister made about large-scale sports infrastructure. Obviously the local sports capital fund is for smaller clubs and organisations. Can it cater for all the minority sports which we will be talking about later? I acknowledge at this stage the wonderful project at Abbottstown and the way in which it caters for minority sports - cycling and fencing for example. I attended the féile hosted by the Connacht GAA centre of excellence a number of years ago. More than 10,000 people were there. The GAA put a huge amount of funding into that. I would be interested to hear the Minster's comments on funding for larger structural projects and on what might be available for facilities to cater for minority sports right around the country, not just in Abbottstown.

On the appeals process and so on, we need to refer to the recent controversies, which the Minister mentioned himself. One of the good things about the sports capital programme is that in the most recent few rounds - the Chairman emphasised this fact - the facilities funded are available at all times throughout the week and throughout the day. On the controversy around the private schools getting funding, and on the particular case that caused the controversy, did it involve a joint application from a sports club and the school? We heard in the media that other schools in disadvantaged areas had not received funding or had been turned down. I presume in many of those cases it would have been the case that applications were not made. Was that the case? It is important to fine-tune this and get it right so that those most in need get funding first. I ask the Minister for his comments on that.

The other issue I have may be more relevant to Sport Ireland. It relates to the minority sports. It is one of the good things about the sports capital programme that funding is given to minority sports in order to provide facilities.

The issue with minority sports arises where they are not under a national governing body supported by the sports council. One has situations where people win international kick-boxing or billiards competitions while representing Ireland but have to fund their own travel abroad to do so. There could be some contingency fund. I realise one cannot spread funding too thinly and support every governing body, but I might talk to Sport Ireland about it later.