George Lee (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 239: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if there has been a reduction in the building costs of projects (details supplied) in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in view of the falling cost of construction; if so, the reduction in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32029/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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All successful applicants under the Department's Sports Capital Programme are required to submit at least three comparable quotations to the Department for each aspect of the works being funded before an allocation is formally approved. In order to ensure value for money in the provision of facilities, the terms and conditions of the Programme specify that in each case, the contract/order should be placed with the contractor/supplier providing the most economically advantageous quotation. In addition, the Department's technical advisers, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has a monitoring role in relation to projects allocated more than €150,000 in one or more rounds of the Programme.

Of the allocations in question, records in my Department indicate that one was allocated on 2000 and paid in 2002. Of the remainder, tenders have been submitted in respect of only one project and the tenders for that project indicate that the final cost will be lower than that estimated at the time of application. Support for projects under the Programme is typically capped at 70% of the final cost of the project. Where an allocation exceeds that amount, the Department may consider a request for a change of purpose from the grantee or the surplus allocation may be withdrawn.