Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if funding is available for a soccer club (details supplied) in County Galway; the other routes the club can take in terms of receiving funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32114/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The national lottery-funded sports capital programme administered by my Department allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The programme is advertised on an annual basis. In order for an organisation to be eligible for funding, it must submit an application within the application period in any given year.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the club in question has been allocated six grants since 1999 under the sports capital programme, amounting to a total of €1,297,428. All of the moneys in respect of these grants have been paid to the club by my Department. Applications for funding under the 2005 programme were invited through advertisements in the press on 5 and 6 December last. The closing date for receipt of applications was 4 February 2005 and a total of 1,362 applications was received. The club in question did not apply for funding at that time. In July, I announced provisional allocations of €54.385 million to 626 projects under the programme.

I intend to advertise and invite applications to the 2006 sports capital programme before the end of this year. It is open to the club in question, should it wish to do so and should it have a project which satisfies the terms and conditions of the programme, to submit an application for funding under the 2006 programme. In terms of other sources of funding, the Irish Sports Council provides substantial funding to the national governing bodies of sport, which in turn implement a range of support programmes in the areas of coaching and games and club development.