Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 276: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the funding that was made available for each of the past ten years on a county basis; and if he is satisfied that all community groups and others applying for sports funding receive equal treatment. [14200/04]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The national lottery funded sports capital programme allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. It is advertised on an annual basis.

A review of the programme was completed at the end of 1998. Since then every application for funding each year is treated on its merits and evaluated against detailed assessment criteria published in the guidelines, terms and conditions. These criteria measure the main objectives of the programme, which are as follows: develop an integrated and planned approach to the development of sport and recreational facilities; assist voluntary and community organisations with the development of appropriate facilities in appropriate locations that will maximise use in terms of participation in sport and recreation; prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas in the provision of facilities; and encourage the multi-purpose use of facilities at national, regional and community level by clubs, community organisations and national governing bodies of sport.

The allocation data for the past ten years is contained in the following table. On 7 May 2004 I announced provisional funding allocations, totalling €50.8 million, to 717 projects. I will shortly announce funding for projects of major significance that met local needs under the 2004 programme. They also add considerably to the national and regional sporting infrastructure that is required for increasing levels of participation and improving standards of performance.