Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, for coming in. It is rare enough to come in here for a Topical Issue and get the line Minister, so I do appreciate it.

This is a long story. It goes back to 2020 initially. I think in January 2020 we were delighted when the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, unveiled plans for a massive development, or so we thought, of a centre of excellence in Glanmire in co-operation with the FAI. It was sold as a project which we were very excited about, to be honest, particularly due to its relationship with Cork City FC. We thought it would be a massive benefit to the community in Glanmire and the wider Munster and Cork regions.

That allocation of €86.4 million was made in January 2020, of course, in good faith. I think that funding was spread across 33 projects, of which an initial €2 million was dedicated to Glanmire. We fast-forward then to 2023 when the FAI wrote to the Department stating it no longer intended to proceed with that project in Glanmire with regard to the LSSIF grant I am talking about. If we move on again to 2024, the FAI board agreed at that time that it would look at alternative proposals. My understanding is that is an internal matter for the FAI that it is still considering its next steps, and the Minister might be able to elicit more of what it is thinking in his own response.

My understanding is that we are still waiting for updates between the UCC and FAI. My understanding is that very little has happened. It is very frustrating for us locally because we did genuinely feel that this would be a trademark and would really put Cork football on the map. It is an internal matter for the FAI but we are growing increasingly frustrated over the past number of years with the lack of progress on the site.

The Minister of State might be aware that Riverstown Football Club has actually become the main sub-lessee of the site and that needs to be finalised with Cork County Council. We are in the latter stages of that. Ultimately, the council's proposal that it will go out to a public consultation and consider alternative proposals for the remainder of the site, one of which is a multisport community centre proposal is being prepared by members of the community.

I was encouraged by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan's, comments in reply to me two weeks ago at a sports committee meeting on the departmental Estimates. At that time, he stressed for all existing grant programmes, be they sports capital funding or the LSSIF, the urgency of drawing down those existing funds that are committed. In the case of Glanmire, an initial €2 million was allocated in 2020. It is 2025 now and we are yet to see any drawdown of that funding. The reason I tabled this matter is that I do not have an issue with whatever proposal the FAI come up with, I just want to see the funding drawn down. We have been waiting the bulk of five years for that funding to be drawn down and, as I said, little or no progress has been made on the alternative the FAI promised a considerable time ago that it would come up with. Is the FAI dealing with this matter expeditiously with their partners? Does the Minister of State believe they can meet the local funding requirements in light of its recently published financial report?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

Government investment in sport is essential to increasing participation levels in all sports, across all sectors of society. The allocation for the sports programme in budget 2026 is over €290 million, an increase of just under €60 million or 26%, compared to last year's allocation. When the national sports policy was published in 2018, it set a commitment to double investment in sport to more than €220 million by 2027, so I am pleased that we have well exceeded that commitment already. My Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the community sports facilities fund and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, which we are discussing in relation to one particular awardee this evening.

Through that fund, over €250 million euro was allocated to 3,000 community sports facilities in 2024 from the 2023 round of the fund. A total of €297 million has been invested through the LSSIF across 68 projects. The 2018 round allocated €124 million to 33 projects, of which this is one, including top-ups in 2023. In November 2024, €173 million was allocated to 35 projects following record demand on that occasion.

To deal with the specific award raised by the Deputy, my Department provided a provisional allocation of just over €2.025 million for the Munster centre of excellence under the first round of the LSSIF in 2020. The proposal involved the development of grass pitches, an AstroTurf facility, floodlighting and dressing rooms. The FAI wrote to the Department on 10 May 2023 stating that it no longer intended to proceed with the LSSIF-funded centre of excellence in Glanmire. According to the FAL the decision not to proceed with the proposal was due to the fact that the original proposal no longer represented the greatest return on investment for the parties involved. Regarding the Glanmire site originally designated for the Munster centre of excellence, Cork County Council, which holds the title, are currently in negotiations with Riverstown FC in relation to a sub-lease. The FAI currently holds a lease on the site. Once legal formalities between the FAI, the council and Riverstown FC are concluded - and I understand that they are nearing completion - Riverstown FC plans to develop the site into a multisport facility for the local community, with the intention of incorporating additional amenities to further support community needs.

In relation to a new location for the Munster centre of excellence, the FAI has been providing ongoing updates to my officials. On 16 October 2025, my Department formally wrote to the FAI seeking a detailed update, which was received today. The FAI has confirmed that negotiations are actively progressing, with discussions at an advanced stage, regarding a potential new site for the centre. The FAI plans to present the proposed site and project details to its board at the next scheduled meeting at the end of this month. Subject to board approval, the FAI intends to seek my Department’s support in transferring the original LSSIF grant to the newly proposed location. The FAI will submit a business case to the Department outlining the revised project location, scope and partnership arrangements for consideration. As negotiations are ongoing, further details cannot be disclosed at this time. As I have previously stated, my Department remains open to considering a request to repurpose the original grant, provided the revised proposal continues to meet the overarching objectives of the original project. Any amended submission from the FAI must comply with the established LSSIF guidelines and be supported by appropriate due diligence.

It is important to note the sizable financial support given to the FAI and to football more generally over the past few years. Over €75 million in State funding has been allocated to the FAI between 2019 and 2024, including €30.2 million specifically to support football development and aimed at promoting participation in football by young people, with the balance in funding comprising Covid-specific and energy supports to the FAI and the wider football sector.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response. The one thing I can glean from this response, and that is encouraging, is that the Minister of State has stated the FAI told him at its next board meeting it will bring forward details on the project. That is welcome progress because this is something that the community of Glanmire and all the public representatives involved, including local authority members, have pushed for some time. This project dates back six or seven years since its inception. My fundamental frustration is around the drawdown of funds. This is not the only project across the country that has not been drawn down from the LSSIF or, indeed, from other sports capital grants. Is there going to come a tipping point? Aside from this specific project, is there going to come a point where the Department will say to awardees have five, six, seven years to draw funding down, whatever the project is around the country, and if they do not use it, they are going to lose it or it will be go back to the Exchequer to be reallocated to some other worthy project? All these projects are worthy. We are all looking to support the development of infrastructure and facilities. The Minister of State referenced the record funding the Government has invested in the recent budget. I hope in next year's budget we will see a similar allocation into the sports capital funding. Is there ever going to come a point where if an awardee cannot or is unable to draw down the funding they have been allocated, there will be a cut-off point? I welcome the response the FAI has given stating that at its next board meeting it will have an update, but I ask that in relation to that update, commitments are given on timelines and when this can be delivered.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his advocacy in wanting to see this important project moved forward. There will come a point, because these will not be kept open forever. We need to make sure these projects get a move on. The Department has been tolerant to those awarded, but our objective at the moment is to try to make sure they are all moving. If they do not move, we will intervene and look to see how other projects will be able to move instead. I have given the House an update around the current status with regard to the potential for a new site for the Munster centre of excellence and the fact the FAI is updating its board at the next meeting. This is a new funding stream The large-scale sports infrastructure fund did not exist prior to the first funding round in 2020 followed by the second round in 2024. My objective, as Minister of State, is to work to try to make sure that the funds that have been awarded move forward by looking and assessing each of the projects intensively and monitoring them very closely to make sure they are held to account before moving forward. We are seeing movement now on this. As long as the objectives for the centre of excellence and the facilities that were initially intended in relation to the funding grant can be accommodated and are held true to in moving to a different site, we would be very much open to facilitating that and seeing the funding delivered for the benefit of football in the wider Cork area. This project could deliver a very significant benefit. I know the Deputy understands that and realises its potential.

We need to see it moving on. I will keep a very close eye on how the project develops to make sure that if it does move, decisions are taken and the process is stepped out so that funding can be availed of and drawn down for the purpose for which it was awarded.