Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

With regard to the Deputy's area, Cork has 217 applications worth €21,083,163. Within the Department, we are at present looking to find other ways to assist sporting organisations. The Deputy is correct with regard to the local authority schemes last year. I want to put this on the record very clearly for the two major newspapers in this country. I was criticised in regard to Mayo getting priority. That is not true. Every local authority that made applications for grant aid got it and every local authority that made applications for grant aid for swimming pools got it. The only local authorities that did not get funding were those that did not follow the one criterion, which was that the local authority must own the land. Even having been given the criteria, they still made applications when they did not own the land. I want to put that on the record. Per capita, it was Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan, and in terms of money, it was Dublin and Cork, that got the highest amounts. I would appreciate it if the national media might cover that and correct the inaccuracies that were put in the national newspapers in recent weeks.

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