Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his priorities in 2009 in respect of the allocation of funding to appropriate and qualifying bodies, groups or agencies from the proceeds of the national lottery; if such allocations are expected to follow or deviate from the practices or procedures of previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37491/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The elements of the Department's Vote which are part-funded by the proceeds of the National Lottery are as follows:

- Subhead C.1: Grants for sporting bodies and for the provision of sports and recreational facilities under the Sports Capital Programme;

- Subhead C.3: Grant-in-Aid provided to the Irish Sports Council in respect of general assistance to sports organisations and expenditure in relation to sports activities; and

- Subhead D.7: Grant-in-Aid provided to the Arts Council in respect of arts activities.

In relation to the Grants-in-Aid to the Irish Sports Council and the Arts Council, allocation decisions are made by the agencies themselves and the Department has no function in this matter.

In relation to the Sports Capital Programme, which is administered by the Department, this is the primary vehicle for Government support for the provision of sports facilities and equipment throughout the country. Some €56 million has been provided in the Department's Vote in 2009 for this purpose. Although no decision has been made in relation to the timing of any future rounds of the Sports Capital Programme, payments are being made to sporting organisations allocated funding under previous rounds of the Programme. In this regard, as of 19 October, the Department approved almost 1,300 payments with a total value of €47 million. It is anticipated that all of the €56 million provision will be distributed to grantees in the current year in respect of allocations made in previous years.