Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are concluding a review of this initiative, which is looking at, to return to Senator Cassells's question, the types of funding gaps in those projects we have already funded. I refer to certain projects that missed out. There is also the aspect of broader demand. We will engage with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the possibility of an additional budget line in this context. Some €100 million was made available. Equally, the previous Government, and the then Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Griffin, allocated €86 million at that time. We are, however, cognisant that there is a necessity in the context of existing projects and the level of ambition across the country.

I also share the Senator’s point about ensuring we intervene where facilities are needed. We must move beyond single-sport facilities. We must embed a municipal concept in sport and particularly where we invest on a bigger scale. This will require sporting organisations to look beyond their own specific interests and to work together for the broader community. That type of approach works much better across Europe and also gives better delivery for the State. There is also the matter of how we can better integrate our education system with sporting and community facilities. Any future iteration of the large-scale funding programme will mandate sporting organisations to come together to undertake larger projects in regions or communities. This is what investment of this type should be targeted at, rather than for single and specific projects, as we have seen happen over many years. This municipal concept must be at the core of any future budget line in this regard.