Written answers
Wednesday, 31 May 2006
Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism
Sports Funding
9:00 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 18: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount allocated for sporting purposes per county for the years 2002, 2003 , 2004 and 2005; the projected figure for 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20879/06]
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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There are two programmes administered by my Department through which funding is provided towards the development of sports facilities. These are the Sports Capital Programme and the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme.
Under the national lottery-funded sports capital programme, funding is allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The programme is advertised on an annual basis. The detailed information requested by the Deputy which is provided in the table shows that total of €260.2 million was allocated under the Sports Capital Programme during the period in question to 2,879 projects all around the country and that every county has benefited hugely from this funding.
Almost €68 million has been provided in my Department's 2006 Estimates towards the payment of such grants. Almost all of this amount will be in payment of grants allocated in the period specified by the Deputy.
In relation to sports capital allocations in 2006, the closing date for receipt of applications was 20th January last. A total of 1,338 applications for projects costing €670 million and seeking funding of €312 million were received by the closing date. All of these applications, ranging in project cost from €500 to €25 million, are currently being evaluated against the programme's detailed assessment criteria, which are outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme. I intend to announce in the near future the grant allocations for the programme as soon as possible after the assessment process has been completed.
Under the local authority swimming pool programme, grant aid is provided to local authorities in respect of the capital costs of a new swimming pool, a replacement pool or the refurbishment of an existing pool. The closing date for receipt of applications under the current round of this Programme was 31 July 2000 and since then a total 57 projects have or are being dealt with. Of the 57 projects, within the Programme, 19 have been completed and 13 pool projects are now under construction or are about to start construction. In addition, 25 other projects are at various stages in the Programme — 7 at tender stage, 10 at contract document stage and 8 at preliminary report stage. It is important to note that expenditure under the programme is largely determined not by my Department, but by the speed at which individual local authorities progress their projects.
In the period referred to by the Deputy an amount of €70.267m has expended under the Programme. €32 million has been provided in my Department's vote in respect of this programme for 2006, and so far this year I have allocated a further €11,427,642 towards three swimming pool projects at Portlaoise, Portarlington and Longford.
This Government, more than any other Government in the history of the State recognises the benefits which can be achieved through the involvement of people in sport and it has invested significant resources to provide modern well managed and well equipped sporting facilities throughout the length and breath of the country.
| Sports Capital Funding By County 2002 to date | |||||
| County | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | Total |
| Carlow | 489,000 | 440,000 | 632,000 | 446,000 | 2,007,000 |
| Cavan | 691,200 | 580,000 | 1,075,000 | 785,000 | 3,131,200 |
| Clare | 1,123,000 | 1,125,000 | 1,727,000 | 1,356,000 | 5,331,000 |
| Cork | 7,257,000 | 5,747,400 | 6,524,000 | 8,172,000 | 27,700,400 |
| Donegal | 5,049,000 | 1,177,500 | 1,802,000 | 1,572,000 | 9,600,500 |
| Dublin | 23,075,900 | 14,763,733 | 14,691,000 | 15,739,419 | 68,270,052 |
| Galway | 3,058,000 | 3,058,000 | 3,435,014 | 5,760,000 | 15,311,014 |
| Kerry | 3,335,200 | 3,748,000 | 4,476,000 | 3,603,000 | 15,162,200 |
| Kildare | 4,870,000 | 3,366,000 | 3,357,000 | 1,550,000 | 13,143,000 |
| Kilkenny | 1,116,500 | 1,042,500 | 850,000 | 1,284,000 | 4,293,000 |
| Laois | 1,189,000 | 450,000 | 786,000 | 771,000 | 3,196,000 |
| Leitrim | 821,600 | 454,800 | 479,000 | 660,000 | 2,415,400 |
| Limerick | 2,776,000 | 2,785,500 | 1,925,000 | 3,092,000 | 10,578,500 |
| Longford | 759,400 | 780,000 | 745,000 | 499,000 | 2,783,400 |
| Louth | 2,545,000 | 1,372,100 | 1,644,000 | 1,347,000 | 6,908,100 |
| Mayo | 2,284,000 | 1,574,600 | 1,594,000 | 1,422,000 | 6,874,600 |
| Meath | 1,605,000 | 2,560,000 | 2,260,000 | 1,576,000 | 8,001,000 |
| Monaghan | 1,233,000 | 685,000 | 996,000 | 744,000 | 3,658,000 |
| Offaly | 405,000 | 1,004,000 | 1,157,000 | 1,260,000 | 3,826,000 |
| Roscommon | 1,301,000 | 777,600 | 1,027,000 | 880,000 | 3,985,600 |
| Sligo | 1,527,600 | 963,000 | 1,453,000 | 2,020,000 | 5,963,600 |
| Tipperary | 2,478,000 | 1,657,000 | 2,398,000 | 2,177,000 | 8,710,000 |
| Waterford | 3,253,000 | 2,710,000 | 2,080,000 | 1,425,000 | 9,468,000 |
| Westmeath | 2,569,000 | 1,307,000 | 1,083,000 | 1,305,000 | 6,264,000 |
| Wexford | 2,206,000 | 1,221,000 | 1,887,000 | 2,267,000 | 7,581,000 |
| Wicklow | 1,813,000 | 1,003,000 | 1,700,000 | 1,527,000 | 6,043,000 |
| Total | 78,830,400 | 56,352,733 | 61,783,014 | 63,239,419 | 260,205,566 |
| Local Authority Swimming Pool Funding by County 2002 to date | ||
| Allocation | Totals | |
| 2002 | ||
| Galway | 3,809,214 | |
| Dublin | 3,809,214 | |
| 7,618,428 | ||
| 2003 | ||
| Kerry | 3,895,614 | |
| Limerick | 3,809,214 | |
| Tipperary | 1,641,934 | |
| 9,346,762 | ||
| 2004 | ||
| Cork | 11,427,642 | |
| Galway | 3,809,214 | |
| Dublin | 11,427,642 | |
| Donegal | 3,809,214 | |
| Louth | 3,809,214 | |
| 34,282,926 | ||
| 2005 | ||
| Monaghan | 3,809,214 | |
| Kerry | 7,592,110 | |
| Dublin | 3,809,214 | |
| Limerick | 3,809,214 | |
| 19,019,752 | ||
| 2006 (to May) | ||
| Laois | 7,618,428 | |
| Longford | 3,809,214 | |
| 11,427,642 | ||
| 81,695,510 |
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