Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 444: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the potential of a proposal (details supplied); if so, if he has met with the committee involved; the results of such meeting or meetings; if the project qualified to apply for funding under any of the schemes as operated by his Department; if an application has been submitted; the position regarding the submission; the advice available to the group to secure the necessary funding; if he will meet with the group to discuss such possibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11684/07]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am aware of the project in question, which is the proposed establishment of a permanent national scouting jamboree centre, whose most recent estimated cost was €10.7 million.

I can confirm that I met the promoters of this project in July 2003 in the course of which potential funding options were mentioned. One of these, the Tourism Product Development Scheme, was not a matter for my Department but was operated by Fáilte Ireland with grant decisions taken by an independent Management Board. As far as programmes operated by my Department are concerned, the project applied unsuccessfully for funding under my Department's sports capital programme in 2002. It was explained to the promoters of the project that it was not suitable for consideration for funding under the sports capital programme as only projects directly related to the provision of sport and recreational sport facilities are considered for funding under that programme and the sporting element of the project in question was a very small proportion of the overall cost. Scouting Ireland has not submitted a subsequent application for the project to the sports capital programme since 2002.

The issue of funding for this project was debated as an adjournment item in the House on February 28th 2006 during which I repeated that I have no source of funding available to me to assist this project, which is primarily a centre for the scouting movement. I advised the organisers of the project to seek alternative sources of funding, most notably the EU-funded PEACE II and PEACE III cross-border programmes, on which the special EU programmes body in Belfast can provide further information.