Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 502: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the reason for the anomaly where a sports club that has qualified for a sports grant under the lottery funds for sports facilities but is unable to make the financial commitment to the lease without being able to draw down the lottery grant assistance; and the action being taken to address this anomaly. [34128/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under the sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, grants are allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. Under the terms and conditions of the programme, an applicant (other than those solely seeking sports equipment) must provide evidence of freehold ownership of the property or evidence that they hold a lease of twenty-two years or more with at least fifteen years left to run. These are minimum requirements of the programme. These conditions are in place to ensure that the grantee is in a position to commit to the facility remaining in sporting use for at least fifteen years.

In addition, grantees in receipt of funding over a specified level must enter into a Deed of Covenant and Charge in order to protect the Minister's interest and ensure that the property remains in sporting use. This places a charge on the grantee's property and in this regard, my Department is advised by the Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO) that a lease of twenty-one years is required in law to create a legal estate capable of supporting a charge.

The Department, acting on the advice of the CSSO, requires a twenty-two year lease because where a lease is required to be registered in the Property Registration Authority, and a solicitor fails to register the lease in time and part of the twenty-one year term then expires, the Property Registration Authority will not register the lease, and the charge that is required cannot be secured. It is to ensure, therefore, that the lease may be registered within the timeframe required, so that the charge can be secured, that my Department has requested a lease of not less than twenty-two years. In this regard, it provides a safeguard for organisations that apply for capital funding under the Sports Capital Programme. It should be noted that these requirements are not applicable if the application is for a sports equipment grant only.