Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. The sports capital equipment grant is excellent. I met the Minister of State two weeks ago when we were down at the opening of the GAA centre of excellence in Ferns, which is a fantastic project and piece of work. As the Minister of State said, the people I met there were literally worn out with getting everything together for the capital grant and everything that goes towards the whole project . The work the volunteers do is amazing. The work that goes into these projects is amazing and it should be recognised.

Not to put a spanner in the works, but the sports capital equipment grant is down 21% next year. It was 43.5% and it is now 34.5%. What way will that affect the clubs about which the Minister of State spoke? Very often, it is the bread and butter of clubs to get a bit of equipment to keep them going. It keeps them above board. How come it is 21% down?

The other question on programme D is local authority swimming pool funding, which is another project that should be funded but has been reduced by 50%. People from disadvantaged areas use a lot of those swimming pools and facilities. What is the position on that?

The third question is on the large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. It was increased by 313%, which is good. What are those projects? Are extra projects coming on? Where is the money going? Is the 313% extra?