Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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25. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his Department's plans for the sports capital programme for 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32676/16]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the Government's primary vehicle to support the development of sports facilities and the purchase of sports equipment.  The most recent rounds of the programme were in 2012, 2014 and 2015.  So far this year €21m has been paid out to 645 separate organisations under these and previous rounds.  These grants have delivered new and improved facilities and increased opportunities to participate in sport.

The SCP aims to foster an integrated and planned approach to developing sports and recreation facilities and it has transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town, county and city in the country. The programme also aims to prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas in the provision of sports facilities and encourage the sharing of these facilities by clubs, schools, community organisations and national governing bodies of sport.

As was confirmed in the 2017 Estimates Statement, a new round of the Sports Capital Programme will be open for applications in the near future. In this regard, a number of new measures are being introduced to streamline all aspects of the programme from registration, to application to grant drawdown.  Planned new measures will include a shortened application form, new guides for completing the form and the organisation of a series of regional workshops to assist applicants who intend to apply for a grant. 

We will be announcing more comprehensive details of the new round shortly and expect that it will be open for applications by January at the latest. Based on previous rounds of the programme, the assessment process takes a number of months to complete so I expect that the actual grant allocations under the new round will be made some time during Summer 2017.

Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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26. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the sports capital programme will be open for applications in 2017; the amount he expects to be available under the programme in 2017; and when applicants should expect to be notified whether they are successful or not. [32767/16]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the Government's primary vehicle to support the development of sports facilities and the purchase of sports equipment.  The most recent rounds of the programme were in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Following the conclusion of the 2017 Estimates discussions, a total of €52m has been provided for sports capital projects. This will meet all existing commitments under previous rounds of the Sports Capital and Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, and also allow for a new round of the of the Sports Capital Programme. In this regard, the new round will be open for applications by January at the latest. Based on previous rounds of the programme, the assessment process takes a number of months to complete so I expect that actual grant allocations will be made some time during Summer 2017.  We will be announcing more comprehensive details of the new round shortly.