Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. To reiterate what my colleague, Senator Robbie Gallagher, has just said about this fund, this is probably one of the funds from that we get great value for money. This is not just from the point of view of sport, but also for the well-being of the people of our nation across the board. It is not just sporting people; families in general get a kick from taking part in, and seeing their kids and the young ones taking part in sport. The real good I see from this programme is how our different facilities across the country are now starting to get to a better standard. However, we have a fair way to go. With that in mind, we have been waiting since November last year for this next round to be announced. It is long beyond time it was announced. It is starting to become a biannual instead of an annual programme. It used to be an annual programme and it is time we get on with this funding. It is time that the Minister of State, as a new Minister, got on with this programme, and we would like to see that happen sooner. While his reply states it will happen this year, we want it announced yesterday. It needs to be announced as soon as possible because we are aware of the number of months it takes for applications to come in, be processed, and before announcements are made. We hope he can look on this request positively.