Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing support and representations on the football centre of excellence for Munster in Glanmire. The work he has done as a councillor and in the Dáil has been important to the project.

The large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF, was launched in 2018 to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, with at least €100 million made available over the period to 2027. The FAI, with the support of Cork County Council, of which the Deputy is a former member, submitted an application under the LSSIF for construction funding for phase 1 of the Munster Football Centre of Excellence in Glanmire. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and included an allocation of €2,025,699 for the Glanmire project. Details of all of the projects are on the Department's website.

The grant for the Glanmire project was provisionally awarded to cover, among other matters, the development of grass pitches, floodlighting, an artificial pitch and dressing rooms. Advancing the project is a matter for the grantees - Cork County Council and the FAI - in the first instance. However, the Department has been engaging with all grantees in recent months as part of an ongoing review of, and following up on, all LSSIF projects. The FAI confirmed it is committed to developing the Munster Centre of Excellence and I understand that an extension to the planning permission for the project was approved by Cork County Council. Furthermore, the FAI has informed my Department that the organisation is continuing to engage with the relevant football stakeholders, including Cork City FC and the Munster Football Association, to agree how best to progress matters in view of current estimated costs and the financial projections associated with the project. I understand that the purpose of these discussions is to ensure delivery of phase 1 of the overall project in as timely a manner as possible.

From the Department's perspective and mine, the grant allocation is fully in place and I look forward to seeing the project advance further in the months ahead, to the Department writing the cheque and to the money being spent. It is there waiting for the FAI and Cork County Council. We will do what we can on our side to expedite matters.

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