Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was not long going.

In recent years, dormant accounts funding has been instrumental in the provision of increased sports participation opportunities for those with a disability. Looking to the future, there will be a continued emphasis on dormant accounts funded programmes, including in particular the roll-out of initiatives such as the community sports hubs on a nationwide basis. Last year, Sport Ireland published its new policy on participation in sport by people with disabilities. It provides a clear policy context for the promotion of sport for people with disabilities and a basis for an enhanced and more concerted approach by Sport Ireland and the organisations it works with. Following publication of the policy, Sport Ireland has begun to capture data on the level of participation by people with disabilities across various sports. This data collection was introduced as a new element in the 2018 funding application process. This data will be valuable in determining the levels of participation in various sports and in developing policies in that regard. Sport Ireland will continue to work closely with national governing bodies of sport, local sports partnerships, CARA and Paralympics Ireland to ensure that there are opportunities for all to participate in sport.

With regard to capital funding for sports and community facilities, the sports capital programme as operated by my Department provides funding to voluntary sporting and community organisations for the provision of sports and recreational facilities. More than 11,500 projects have benefitted from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to close to €1 billion. The programme has transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town and city. The facilities funded range from the smallest clubs to national centres of sporting excellence. Grants are available to sports clubs, voluntary and community groups, national governing bodies of sport and local authorities. Schools may also apply provided they do so jointly with a sports club or organisation.

Under the most recent round of the sports capital programme, a record 2,320 applications were submitted and €62 million was allocated to 1,837 individual projects. For the first time ever, every valid local application received a grant offer. The overall funding available was distributed by county, on a per capita basis, and more than 50 different sports benefitted from funding. As many Senators will be aware, a new round of the programme opened for applications on 7 September and closes at 5 p.m. on 19 October. There is €40 million available and I urge Senators to make people of the programme.

I must address some of the points Senator Devine made regarding the sports capital programme. I strongly disagree with the sentiments expressed. If anything, the sports capital programme, as administered in 2017, was the fairest in the 20 years since the programme's inception. As I mentioned, every valid application received funding. The funding allocated to applicants was directly proportionate to the points they scored in an independent scoring system and the amount they sought. If an organisation complained that it got a lawnmower, the likelihood is that it only applied for a lawnmower. We did not provide grants of €150,000 to organisations that only asked for a lawnmower. They could have asked for more. This was the first time every valid applicant received a proportion of what was sought based on the points the application scored. If we did it any differently, there would be complaints about that also. The programme was implemented in the fairest way possible.

Senator Devine spoke about private clubs and schools.