Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The total number of applications under the 2017 Sports Capital Programme will not be known until after the closing date of the 24th February. I expect a large number of applications however, and am aware that almost 1,600 were received in 2015 while over 2,000 applications were received under both the 2012 and 2014 rounds of the programme.

Every application will be assessed by one official and then reviewed by another to ensure validity and consistency. As the Deputy will be aware, each application contains several supporting documents and these also have to be examined.  While the assessment process will be completed as quickly as possible, based on previous timeframes, I expect that allocations would be announced in September or October of 2017.