Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am in the county next door to him but in a different province, so we do not get to be in Clones often, if ever.

We are here to discuss sports investment, and that will continue. I had the opportunity to discuss it in the Dáil last Thursday. I invite the Leader and Senators, if they so wish, to have a full debate on sports capital funding, as we did in the Dáil. I would be happy to do so here.

Regarding the Department’s responsibility, the sports capital and equipment programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sport and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. More than 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocation in that time to more than €1.15 billion. We all agree the sports capital and equipment programme has transformed the sporting landscape, with improved sports facilities in every town and village in the country.The programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to targeting the investment in disadvantaged areas. Last year, the final allocations under the latest completed round of the programme were announced. The total allocated was over €166 million, which was the highest level of funding ever allocated under the programme. The allocations included an allocation of almost €180,000 for modernisation works at Clones stadium. I understand that the stadium also benefited from other SCEP grants in recent years.

With regard to future allocations, the latest round of the 2023 SCEP closed for applications on Friday, 8 September. A preliminary examination of the submitted applications, the number of which has been very large, is now under way. I understand from talking to Senator Gallagher that an application has been received for further improvement works at Clones stadium. We will in due course publish the list of applications on the website in the interests of transparency. Work is now under way on finalising the scoring assessment and assessment manual for the 2023 round and I hope to have it published in the coming weeks. Simultaneously, I also plan to publish the full list of all applications received by county including the relevant sport type for each application received. Once these documents are published, the detailed assessment work can commence.

In this regard, it is planned to assess the equipment-only applications first with a view to announcing these grants in the coming months. Work will then commence on the assessment of the capital applications with the allocations likely to be announced later in 2024. I assure Senator Gallagher that every effort will be made to provide funding for as many worthwhile projects as possible.

Regarding larger sports projects, the national sports policy was published in 2018 and provided for the establishment of a new large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The aim of the LSSIF is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP.

The first call for proposals under the LSSIF closed in 2019 with applications confined to local authorities and national governing bodies, NGBs, of sport. All applications were assessed in accordance with the published evaluation procedures and guidelines and the first allocations were announced in January 2020. Thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. A number of GAA projects received grant funding under this first call such as Walsh Park in Waterford, Pairc Tailteann in Navan and St. Conleth's Park in Kildare.

I visited phase one of the Walsh Park redevelopment completed in late August. This project involved the construction of a new uncovered 3,404-seater northern stand. Main construction work has also commenced in St. Conleth's Park in Kildare with the aim for that redevelopment project to be completed next year.

It will, of course, be open to the stakeholders to apply for further funding for Clones stadium under a future call for proposals under the LSSIF. In this regard, I will continue to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform regarding the additional funding required and the timing and terms and conditions of any new round of the LSSIF will be announced in due course.