Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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132. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he or his Department have any discussions with local authorities to resolve the issue of proof of ownership of council property in order to meet criteria for sports capital grants. [7799/14]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In December I was delighted to be able to announce that I had secured €40m in funding for the 2014 round of the Sports Capital Programme.  The Programme is currently open for applications and all the requirements in relation to making an application are set out in the guide to making an application which is available on the Department's website .  

Working with my officials I have, since becoming Minister, put in place several innovations to improve the Programme and make it accessible to more sports and community groups.  In particular, arising principally from concerns expressed by Dublin City Council, the requirement that prior to application an applicant with chargeable title must have their title registered in the Property Registration Authority has been amended.  For the 2014 Programme, applicants are now only required to have their title registered in the PRA in respect of Registry of Deeds title prior to application, and the Department will continue to accept a dealing number for registrations pending in the PRA in respect of Land Registry title.

To avoid confusion in relation to what can be complex legal matters the Department, in consultation with the CSSO, has put in place a mandatory template for applicants' solicitors to confirm that they meet the title requirements of the Programme.