Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The sports capital programme, which is part-funded from the proceeds of the National Lottery and administered by my Department, is the primary vehicle for Government support for the provision of sports facilities and equipment. Since 1998, the Government has invested over €725 million in more than 7,400 separate sporting projects. This investment has transformed the Irish sporting landscape, with improved facilities in virtually every village, town and city. The facilities funded range from basic sports facilities and new equipment for the smallest clubs to regional integrated multi-sport centres and national centres of sporting excellence.

This investment is evidence of the importance the Government places on sport. Sports facilities that are well planned, built and managed can act as focal points for a community and allow more people to get involved in healthy activities. Participation in sport is important for many reasons. For individuals, participation has health benefits, builds confidence and gives people a sense of their own worth. For society as a whole, sport can reduce anti-social behaviour, while sporting success has the ability to lift the spirits of whole counties and even the whole country.

Two expenditure reviews of the sports capital programme have been carried out to date; the first covered the period 1988 to 1998, while the second covered the period 1999 to 2002. Work on the national sports facilities strategy, which will provide an improved policy platform for any future rounds of the programme, is at an advanced stage of preparation in my Department. It is my intention to publish the strategy once it has been completed and considered by the Government.

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