Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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241. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the application process for the sports capital grant will commence; the closing date for submission of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40339/16]

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.  It will 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 begin to be made during the Summer of 2017. More comprehensive details of the new round will be announced shortly.