Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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243. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to revise the conditions of the sports capital programme for clubs that may not own their own property in order that they can apply for grant aid that may give them the opportunity to purchase and further develop their facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20305/18]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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The Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment. The full terms and conditions of the most recent round of the SCP are published on my Department's website (www.dttas.ie). The purchase of lands and buildings has always been outside the terms and conditions of the SCP. 

Where the applicant does not own land or have a long lease, a smaller capital grant (€25,000 in the case of the 2017 round of the SCP) can still be applied for.  In these cases the property owner must fill out a template confirming continued access to property for a minimum of five years. It is also open for any club or organisation to apply for funding for sports equipment up to the maximum level of grant (under the 2017 round of the SCP this equated to €150,000 for local projects and €200,000 for regional projects) even if the applicant does not have title to the property in question. In these cases the owner of the land is simply required to confirm that he/she has no intention of taking the facility away from the applicant for a minimum of five years.

A review of the 2017 round of the SCP has also been published on the Department's website. This review highlights  aspects of the 2017 round of the SCP that worked well but also suggests some further improvements. These and any other required amendments to the terms and conditions of the SCP will be fully considered prior to the announcement of the next round. An announcement in relation to the timing of this next round is expected in the coming weeks.