Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

The sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, is the primary vehicle for Government support for the provision of sports facilities and equipment in this country.

Since 1998, through the sports capital programme, the Government has invested over €725 million in over 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 that the Government places on sport. Sports facilities that are well-planned, built and managed have the ability to 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 worth. For society as a whole, sport can reduce antisocial behaviour while sporting success has the ability to lift the spirits of whole counties and even the whole country.

Two reviews of the sports capital programme have been undertaken in the past. The first covered the period 1988–98 while the second covered the period 1999–2002. The national sports facilities strategy will provide an improved policy platform for any future rounds of the programme. For further details on the strategy, I refer the Deputy to my reply to the previous question.

No decision has been made on the timing of future rounds of the programme. However, €56 million has been provided in the C1 sub-head of the Department's Vote in 2009 out of which grants are paid for the provision of sports and recreation facilities. Almost 1,300 payments, with a total value of €47 million, were approved by the Department from this sub-head by close of business on 19 October. All of the €56 million provision will be distributed to grantees in the current year in line with the previous years.

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