John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will raise one issue on the Order of Business, that is, the large scale sports infrastructure fund. As the Leader will know, it was introduced in 2018 to try to focus on those larger national governing bodies and regional projects. In my county of Waterford, the county board received €3.753 million in 2019 for the redevelopment of Walsh Park. Fantastic work has been done there in terms of phase one of that redevelopment. However, it is my understanding that many of these larger scale projects have come in for significantly more than what they were originally budgeted for due to construction inflation.They were all asked to send in the additional costs associated with the projects, of which there were about 33 around the country. I am seeking an early announcement allocating additional funding for all these larger scale infrastructure projects. It is very important that the county board can continue to phase 2 of the redevelopment of Walsh Park and build on the momentum created in phase 1. It was great to be able to have the senior hurling and camogie finals there in recent weeks. The stadium is looking well. For projects such as Walsh Park to move on, an additional allocation is needed in light of the increased costs. I would like an early announcement in that regard.