John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am aware that a review of the sports capital programme has been undertaken. My question is whether the Minister will indicate a timeframe within which the suspension of new applications under the programme will be reversed. The Minister stated in the Dáil in January, in response to a parliamentary question I tabled, that no new applications would be accepted in 2009. He referred to budgetary constraints and said it was time to pause and consider how best to secure value for money and avoid duplication of services in various locations. I accept that this must be done.

However, Members on all sides of the House are in agreement that the sports capital grants represented a successful deployment of resources in the last ten or 15 years in communities throughout the State. I accept that we must be careful to ensure there is value for money in the allocation of this funding but it is my understanding that the sporting budget has been reduced to a greater degree than any other budget. The Minister will likely refer to the completion of the Lansdowne Road stadium as one of the reasons for this reduction. However, the reality is that sports capital grants have been withdrawn altogether. People working in communities on a voluntary basis cannot understand why this was done. Moreover, banks are refusing to give loans because lottery grants are no longer available. As I said, the provision for other services has been reduced, but sports capital grants have been removed entirely. There is much talk about the Government and politicians not connecting with the people. The public wants to know whether this funding will be reinstated in 2010, 2011 or at some later stage.

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