Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Enright for raising this important issue. I am taking this adjournment debate on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy Brennan, who is unavoidably absent.

The social and economic benefits of sport are acknowledged by this Government and are reflected in the unprecedented level of Government funding for sport. The level of funding available for spending on sport in 2008 is €336 million, compared to just €17 million in 1997. The commitment by Government to sport was further emphasised by the publication of the National Development Plan 2007-2013 which included a commitment to provide €991 million for sporting infrastructure during the period up to 2013. This increased investment in sport in recent years has supported the promotion and development of Irish sport and the provision of a modern sporting infrastructure, with high quality facilities catering for the participation, coaching, training and competition needs of all levels and types of sport.

Under the sports capital programme, which is administered by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, grants are allocated to sporting, voluntary and community organisations for the provision of sports and recreational facilities and equipment. Since 1998, more than 6,700 projects have been funded, providing a range of essential sports facilities throughout the country, bringing the total allocation of sports capital funding in that time to €568 million. In addition, more than €107 million has been allocated towards the development of Croke Park. The success of that programme is evident when any of us have the opportunity to visit that world-class stadium.

Applications under the 2008 sports capital programme were invited by way of advertisement in the national press on Sunday, 13 and Monday, 14 January this year. The deadline for paper-based applications was Friday, 29 February at 5 p.m. and the deadline for receipt of on-line applications was Friday, 7 March at 5 p.m. The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is sorting the applications received. My colleague, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy Brennan, will announce the projects to be funded after his officials have completed the assessment of the applications.

The House will appreciate that the scale of these investments warrants protection of the State's interests, as Deputy Enright adverted to. Under the terms and conditions of the sports capital programme, grantees — other than those solely seeking sports equipment — in receipt of funding over a cumulative total of €150,000 must enter into a deed of covenant and charge to protect the Minister's and taxpayers' interest and to ensure that the property remains in sporting use. This places a charge on the grantee's property, which depreciates over the course of fifteen years.

The Minister understands that the Chief State Solicitor's office issues a comprehensive legal pack to all solicitors acting on behalf of grantees, which includes all necessary documents. When the documents are returned they are checked by the Chief State Solicitor's office and, if in order, the deeds can be sent to the Department for sealing. A proportionate amount of time is required for legal documents to be checked by the Chief State Solicitor's office. If the documents are not in order the grantee's solicitors will be notified.

There can be a number of reasons for a delay in the process such as delays on the part of the clubs in having the deed of covenant and charge put in place or delays in the submission of fully completed paper work or the provision of a prompt response to queries raised. The State must ensure that the legal formalities are complied with by the clubs otherwise the necessary securities will not be available to the State. This necessity to ensure that the requisite security is provided inevitably results in delays from time to time. The Department's officials have a very good working relationship with the Chief State Solicitor's office and together they are constantly trying to improve the operation of the programme to assist clubs in meeting these necessary conditions required to protect significant Government investments. In this context, grantees are informed that they should not start any work in advance of the completion of the deed and other procedural requirements of the programme. This is to protect the grantees as no payment can be made until these requirements are met. If the Deputy is aware of projects where a serious delay is occurring, the Minister would be happy for his officials to raise the matter with their counterparts in the CSSO.

I am sure Deputy Enright will join me in complimenting our Ceann Comhairle on the outstanding success of the programmes he ran as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism over several years. Many facilities around the country owe a great deal of gratitude to our Ceann Comhairle.

See this speech in context