Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 302: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he or other bodies under his aegis will consider offering a capital grant towards the restoration and refurbishment of a hall (details supplied) in County Kildare, a listed building; if grant aid available to his Department from the proceeds of the national lottery will be used for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17995/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Sports Capital Programme, which is administered by my Department, funding is allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The 2008 programme was advertised in the national press on 13th and 14th of January and the deadline for receipt of applications was 29th February for paper-based applications and 7th March for on-line applications. It is open to any sporting organisation to apply under future rounds of the programme, should they wish to do so and should they have a suitable sporting project which satisfies the terms and conditions of the programme.

My Department's ACCESS scheme provides capital grants for arts and culture infrastructure around the country. Details of allocations made under the ACCESS II scheme 2007-2009 are on my Department's website. Facilities that have been funded to date under ACCESS include integrated arts centres, theatres and galleries, as well as arts studios and creative and performance spaces. Funding of €81m in total is available for the ACCESS scheme over the life of the National Development Plan, 2007 to 2013. Approximately €50m of this is already committed under ACCESS I and II and the intention is to launch a further round of the scheme in due course.