Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, asked me to take this Adjournment matter and wishes to thank theSenator for raising the issue. He is familiar with the tremendously positive impact that marching bands have on their communities. Unfortunately, he does not have the means at his disposal to provide them with funding. The national lottery-funded sports capital programme, which is advertised on an annual basis and administered by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level for sports related projects. The programme is the primary means of providing the quality sports infrastructure needed to enhance participation and improve performance in sport. Since 1998 the Government, through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, has allocated €386 million to over 4,900 sports capital projects.

While in the past a small number of bands were funded under the sports capital programme, the practice was discontinued in 2002. During the Minister's term, no projects without a sporting or physical recreation element have been funded under the programme. While the programme still receives a small number of band applications, these have to be deemed invalid as the funding available is required to continue to improve the level of sporting facilities and the rate of participation in sport.

On the arts side, support of all art forms is a matter for the Arts Council, which is independent in the disbursement of its funds under the provisions of the Arts Act 2003.