Mr. Paul McDermott:

I thank Mr. Kelly and the Deputy. There are strands of funding and the ring-fencing of €15 million for clubs is to ensure that it is channelled directly into clubs at local level. I referenced that the local sports partnerships have run clubs, again at a community level. Consequently, by having the €70 million funding programme in strands, we can make sure the money goes where it is needed most. We will review the documentation and will validate all the applications.

The first priority of the Government bodies when this crisis hit was to try to maintain activity. Second, when they said there would be a resource requirement to allow sport to continue, they put clubs first. That is the general view. Governing bodies came to us. Some of them had their own financial issues but they in general spoke to the need of clubs at a local level and that is reflected in the way the Government signed off on the funding. There will be strands and there will be mechanisms put in place to make sure those most in need can access the funding. The Deputy has referenced Tolka Rovers. We do not know the specifics of that but basketball is one of the sports. Hopefully, that will be reflected in the applications when we review them over the next few weeks. There are mechanisms put in place in our review and validation of applications to make sure clubs are looked after and the money does not just go to a national level, but will also go local.