Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here. The community sports facilities fund, CSFF, is seen by clubs and groups throughout this country as a vital cog in the revenue raising machine, specifically when it comes to development or expansion works that sports clubs might require in order to grow. I know that in County Kildare, the fund is very much relied upon for the development of pitches, clubhouses and other relevant infrastructure.

In 2024, the Government stated that it allocated more than €250 million to community sports clubs and facilities. I commend the previous Government on its commitment to sport. I wish the Minister of State well as he embarks on a review of this fund. I look forward to seeing the outcome of the review. I can only stress that the number of clubs that have not yet benefited from this fund continue to far outweigh those that have. The Government's continued commitment to sports capital projects should remain a priority.

I raise an issue of critical importance to the governance and oversight of significant sums of public funds taken from the CSFF. Two of my boys play soccer in the Kildare and district underage league, KDUL. I am a proud coach of the Prosperous United under-14 team. It has been the highlight of my week for many years now to take training sessions on a Thursday evening and to prepare for a soccer game on a Saturday morning. It is a unique privilege to play such an important role in the lives of young men and women. I have seen fellow parents dedicate their free time to the development of the game in their local clubs or even at county level. The work ranges from grass cutting to running table quizzes, from registering players to painting dressing rooms and from marking pitches to making burgers, all for the kids. One can imagine the collective shock and concern when we read Mark Tighe's excellent reporting in the Sunday Independent of alleged financial irregularities that have been ongoing for many years in Kildare underage soccer. Questions first arose about the KDUL finances when Ian Mallon wrote about it for the Irish Examiner in 2023. The media have been asking questions for many years. The clubs have been asking questions. It is time for answers to be forthcoming.

I will focus on one specific area that I hope the Minister of State will be able to examine. The interim KDUL committee has commissioned forensic accountants to examine the bank accounts of the league because it is reported that the league's assets were transferred to a separate legal entity, the KDUL Academy CLG, between 2020 and 2024. I am going to repeat that. The league's assets were transferred to a separate legal entity. The league is simply made up of thousands of kids, parents and volunteers. Despite paying annual subscriptions, a portion of which were kicked up to the KDUL committee, it was reported that the league had no assets in 2022 apart from a set of gear. A sports capital grant of €350,000 was awarded to the KDUL to develop a new facility in 2006. It was not the intention of the Minister of the day to award such a grant to the KDUL Academy but to the thousands of players in clubs throughout Kildare who should have this facility available to them but do not.

Thanks to the dedication of the interim executive, football continues to flourish in Kildare. However, on behalf of the children and young people, the parents and volunteers in Kildare want what is rightfully theirs handed over. The executive has sent the Department correspondence which outlines some observations and questions, and I appreciate the Minister of State taking the time to acknowledge this. Will he commit to meeting the interim executive when it publishes the independent report? Will he commit to re-examining the €350,000 sports capital grant awarded to KDUL and use all powers available to him to ensure the intended recipients have full responsibility for and full access to the site?

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