Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Heydon for his interest in this subject, as always, and for his constant interaction with me on the sports capital programme.

The sports capital programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over the years, the programme has transformed the sporting landscape of the country, with new and improved facilities and equipment in practically every community.

The 2018 round of the sports capital programme closed for applications in October, with a record 2,337 applications submitted, seeking a total of €162 million in funding. Of these applications, 186 were for projects that were deemed invalid under the 2017 round of the programme but in respect of which corrected documents were submitted subsequently. These applications were assessed first and approximately €7 million in allocations to 170 projects was announced on 17 January. This is something Deputy Heydon and others sought, and it was very well received by the applicants in question who would otherwise still be waiting for funding. We were glad to facilitate this funding.

Work is now under way on assessing the new 2018 applications. For the first time, applicants who have submitted incorrect documentation under this round will be given the opportunity to correct their applications during the assessment period. Many Deputies, including Deputy Heydon, have raised this matter in the past. We were very glad to introduce this facility in the new round to give people who apply for sports capital grants - volunteers mainly - an opportunity to have their applications fully assessed and not invalidated. While there will be no undue delay in completing the assessment process, in view of the opportunity to correct documentation, the record number of applications received and the detailed information contained in each application, it is likely to take a number of months to have all applications assessed. Accordingly, I expect that it may be the third quarter of this year before the full set of allocations under this current round of the sports capital programme is announced. However, there are a number of non-personal sports equipment grants within this number, and we hope in the coming weeks to be able to make allocations to over 600 clubs that have applied for those grants, if possible. This would be helpful to many clubs coming into the summer period.

In answer to the final aspect of Deputy Heydon's question, as soon as we make the final allocations under the 2018 round of the sports capital programme, which I hope will be in autumn, we will carry out a full review of the 2018 round with a view to initiating the opening of the next round of the programme. I hope that will take place before the end of the year.

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