Seanad debates
Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Sports Funding
1:00 pm
Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, to the Seanad Chamber.
Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte ar ais go dtí an Teach seo roimh an Aire Stáit inniu. I thank the Minister of State for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here.
I, like many other sports fans in the country, was delighted with the successful bid by the UK and Ireland to host the 2028 European championship. This has given sports fans a major tournament to look forward to. I commend the Minister of State on his input into the successful bid.
However, with the logistics of the tournament and the investment to be made in Antrim’s Casement Park, fears have grown locally in Monaghan, in particular, in Clones, about the future of St. Tiernach’s Park, the spiritual home of the Ulster final. If a stadium could talk, St. Tiernach’s Park would regale us with tales of epic battles and legions of exuberant supporters through the years. Apart from a genuine affection for the place and the memories of thousands of fans, the importance of the Ulster final in Clones simply cannot be understated. Thousands of people descending upon the small town and stopping along the way there and back at shops, pubs, service stations and cafés brings in considerable money, not just to the town of Clones but the entire economy of County Monaghan.
Socially and economically, we cannot begrudge the reinvigoration of west Belfast and its potential for commerce and employment. We have noted the comment made by An Taoiseach that he is willing to invest in the redevelopment of the facility in Belfast. However, Clones also has great potential. The local community has worked diligently and earnestly in recent decades to promote the town's cause and future. They point out that nowhere suffered more economically during the years of conflict than the once-bursting Border town of Clones. In addition, no town holds its stadium more closely to its heart than the people of Clones do. The euro, pounds, pennies and cents that come to Clones and its hinterland - not to mention the wider business community in Monaghan – are seismic to the local economy.
For these reasons, fears are growing locally that Casement Park’s gain could be Clones’ loss. I sincerely hope the Minister of State can assuage those fears this afternoon so that the people of Clones can look forward to developing St. Tiernach’s Park even further to host many other big matches in the future.
Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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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.
Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I issue an invitation to him to visit Clones to see St. Tiernach's Park for himself. I have no doubt that he will be hugely impressed with it. In many ways, the future of Clones depends on the future of St. Tiernach's Park. We certainly do not begrudge the redevelopment of Casement Park one penny but the Government must also not forget Clones in that process. I am confident that with the Minister of State at the helm, this will not happen. I am not applying undue pressure at this point in time but I look forward to the Minister of State visiting Clones, as are the local Gaels in Clones. I attended the county final there last Sunday and it was a fantastic occasion with almost 7,000 people in attendance. The facility looked fantastic, which is a credit to the local GAA club and its volunteers who worked so hard in the process. We all want to St. Tiernach's Park and Clones to have a bright future and I am asking the Government to keep that in mind.
Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The Ulster GAA council will make its own decisions about stadiums but to be clear, Clones is not in competition with Casement Park from a Government point of view. The primary responsibility for the funding of Casement Park is really with the GAA but also the British Government, which has given an unconditional commitment to ensure the funding is there for Casement Park. The Taoiseach has said that we may be in a position to support that and the details of that can be worked out but this is not in competition with Clones.As Casement Park would not be eligible to apply for LSSIF funding, for example, due to the structure of the island at the moment, that is not going to happen.
If the GAA or Monaghan County Council wish to prioritise Clones as a project, it will be open to them to apply for significant funding under the LSSIF, which is on a much bigger scale than the SCEP. Clones has received significant funding from the SCEP in recent years. I know the Senator was key in fighting for that. It received €350,000 in 2018 and there was almost €180,000 in the most recent round of the SCEP. The latter sum has yet to be drawn down. Significant funding is being sought in this round of the SCEP. The advocacy of the Senator is noted. If I were involved in St. Tiernach's GFC, Monaghan GAA or Ulster GAA, I would certainly be looking at what can be done to ensure the stadium is kept up to high standards and matches continue to be held there. I have no doubt matches will continue to be played there. As the Senator stated, people have strong memories of great experiences going to matches at the stadium and I am sure they want that to continue. We want to have more facilities. Casement Park will be an addition to the island when it is done, and Clones stadium is there. We want to see them all progress.