Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport if a grant has been approved for the development of a facility (details supplied) in County Donegal; the amount of funding that has been approved; if part of the grant has been paid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47047/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The club in question applied for funding under the 2007 and 2008 Sports Capital Programmes. These eligible applications were assessed and received grant funding under the programme of €750,000 in 2007 and €500,000 in 2008. These provisional allocations were made towards the new stadium in Stranorlar. The club was also successful under the 1999 programme and received a grant of €190,461 for Finn Park.

These grant allocations are subject to the terms and conditions of the Programme, which include the execution of a Deed of Covenant and Charge. A Deed provides, inter alia, for a refund of the grant in the event of the facility not continuing to be used for the purpose for which the grant was allocated. The Department's legal adviser, the Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO), deals with the grantee's solicitor in executing this Deed. The signed deeds were returned to the CSSO at the start of December for onwards transmission to the Club's solicitor. Once the legalities have been finalised and it is understood that they are almost completed, arrangements for a payment will be made.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport if she will help secure the continued operation of an organisation (details supplied) from their current location; if she will consider purchasing the building as an arts facility; if she has engaged with the National Asset Management Agency in looking at the use of vacant buildings for creative arts projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47049/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Capital funding for arts and cultural projects supported by my Department is primarily provided from the Cultural Development subhead, D5, of Vote 35 of the Revised Estimates Volume.

Under this subhead, capital grants have been awarded for the development of arts and cultural infrastructure throughout the country. Integrated arts centres, theatres, museums, galleries, arts studios and creative and performance spaces have received capital funding. The purchase of buildings is not considered as eligible expenditure under this subhead. A capital grant of €14,000 was provided in 2010 to the Complex Arts Space for stage lighting equipment.

Current funding for organisations such as Complex Arts Space is normally provided by the Arts Council, who are statutorily independent in making funding decisions.