Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The larger projects have been done on an ad hocbasis to date, and we are trying to find a more streamlined system and a more definite mechanism for progressing them. A large-scale scheme would be a far better way of doing things and there is capital provision for this. This is positive and will give organisations the certainty of planning and give them the ability to look at their long-term plans in a more certain way.

We are nearing completion of the current programme and I hope in the coming weeks it will be completed. I can tell the Deputy there has been progress on the rate of invalidation. In the 2012 programme, the rate was approximately 48% and that dropped by 14% and 15% in those programmes so it was around one third. We are now down at around 20%, which is positive. It is still too much and very disappointing for people who find themselves in that scenario. Over the years, the people I have met in my constituency who were most disappointed with regard to the sports capital programme have not been the people who were unsuccessful but those who were deemed to be invalid. This time around, the officials tried very hard to streamline the process, and it did have results and reduced the rate of invalidation from roughly one third to one fifth. It is still too much and we would like to try to streamline further any future programme to make it as simple as possible for the volunteers, who are availing of this very popular and very worthwhile project.

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