Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is certainly something I will take on board in terms of making sure support is available for those who might need it so that their applications meet the criteria and are put together correctly. That is obviously important in terms of ensuring a successful outcome for applicants. In the most recent round of funding, the Department provided opportunities for clubs that were not successful to engage closely with the appeals process to determine the reasons and see if they could be rectified. It is fair to say that only a very small number of clubs did not get a grant and it was very clearly because they were not meeting the criteria at the time or some of the key requirements were not in place. There would have been engagement and it is important this was the case, but if there is any way we can strengthen that, we certainly will.

I thank Deputies O'Shea and Burke who are very strong advocates for sport in Cork and in their local communities and for the development of facilities there. As a Government, we are massively committed to following through and seeing the investment that was made last October manifesting in improved facilities and services on the ground and to building further on that. The other key issue as we go forward for the next round is making sure that, where there are gaps for certain sports in particular parts of the country, we try to plug those gaps so that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the sports they are passionate about in their local communities and that the facilities and services are in place. We must also look to see how we can further develop communal, municipal and community approaches to sports facilities which can be utilised by several sporting organisations so that we maximise and leverage the facilities that are in a locality. We need to make sure, for example, that we are working with the schools system as well so that we get the maximum impact from investments being made by local clubs, local volunteers and the State to get the maximum benefit for local communities.

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