Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for recognising the important role that the sports capital grant plays in helping sports clubs across the country to develop facilities and back the work done by so many volunteers across sporting clubs. As the Deputy outlined from his experience in his role with Prosperous United, massive work makes sport an important part of people's lives. That is something that we, as a Government, want to continue to support and develop in the time ahead. A key mechanism for doing that, as the Deputy said, is the CSFF, which is the primary means of providing Government support to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level across the country. The programme aims to foster an integrated and planned approach to the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and assists the purchase of non-personal sports equipment.

Over €250 million was allocated to 3,048 community sports clubs and facilities in 2024 from the 2023 round of the CSFF, representing the largest ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland. There are a comprehensive set of controls in place to ensure that grants are used in accordance with the objectives and rules of the fund, which I know is a key point raised by the Deputy in his Topical Issue. When making applications under each round of the CSFF, all organisations must agree to the terms and conditions of the programme and include a statement that all information provided as part of an application is truthful. All grants under the CSFF are initially allocated on a provisional basis and grantees must provide the documentation set out in the letter of provisional allocation prior to receiving formal approval.

In all cases, the letter of provisional allocation informs grantees that submission of false or misleading information to the Department at any stage is treated very seriously. Any organisation that does not comply with the terms and conditions of the sports capital programme may be subject to inspection, have their grant withdrawn, be required to repay all or part of a grant or be barred from making applications for a period of time. All serious breaches of the terms and conditions of the programme will be notified to An Garda Síochána. Grantees must guarantee that the facilities funded will remain in sporting use for a minimum period of time.

This is five years for equipment or capital grants of €25,000 or less and 15 years for any larger capital grants. Once grantees have formal approval, they may commence work and draw down the grant. The drawdown of grants involves the submission of documentation which is checked within the sports capital programmes division and must include invoices that detail the work carried out, proof of payment of these invoices by way of bank statements and a signed certificate of compliance with the terms and conditions of the programme.

The Department has a detailed non-compliance policy which is used to examine any suspected instances of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the fund. On the rare occasion that a serious instance of non-compliance occurs, the grantee is required to repay the Department any grant money paid that was not used for an approved sporting purpose.

As per the relevant departmental guidelines, a system to carry out annual spot checks of capital projects is in place. This is designed to help the Department ensure compliance with all relevant guidelines, including national and EU public procurement procedures and tax clearance requirements as laid down by the Revenue Commissioners. The inspections include a desk-based assessment of projects and site visits to ensure that the projects have been completed and are being used as per the terms and conditions of the CSFF programme.

Each year officials from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General examine a sample of CSFF payments. This audit includes a checking of the record keeping and management of the documents supporting payments and an examination of the procedures and policies of the sports capital programme unit. Regular audits are also carried out by the internal audit division of the Department into all aspects of the operation of the programme.

The Deputy raised a particular sports capital allocation, which was not part of the initial topic, in his contribution. I will respond to him directly on that topic following his raising it on the floor of the Dáil today.

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