Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Letters of allocation for the equipment-only awards were sent to all grantees.

They were all encouraged to draw down funding before the end of the year. All staff in the sports capital division have been prioritising the effort to pay out existing grants.

We are all involved in different sporting clubs and organisations so we know that fundraising has been difficult. The Department is prioritising those matters, working with clubs. That was in the formal note to all the equipment-only grantees and the Department is working with clubs. A significant number of the equipment-only grants have been paid out. A significant amount was paid out in the previous quarter to grantees who were granted payments in the two most recent sports capital rounds. Those payments were outstanding because works could not be commenced during the pandemic. There has been a lot of capital moving out to clubs.

On specific funding gaps, we are not in a position to bridge gaps in existing allocations because that would undermine the existing application process.

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