Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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204. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if funding for playgrounds will be significantly increased in view of the importance of such facilities during and post the Covid-19 pandemic. [22730/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department introduced the Capital Grant Funding Scheme for Play and Recreation in 2013 to support the development or refurbishment of play and recreation facilities.

€250,000 was provided each year between 2013 and 2018 for new and innovative play and recreation spaces and facilities, with a maximum grant allocation of €20,000 per Local Authority and a requirement of the Local Authority to have matched funding of the amount requested from DCYA.

In 2019 my Department increased the amount of capital funding available under this scheme from €250,000 to €450,000. In 2020 DCYA continued to secure this funding with a priority on the upgrade and refurbishment of existing play and recreation facilities. This includes the provision of new equipment, the development of natural play areas, and the refurbishment of existing play facilities.

Also in 2020, in recognition of the importance of play in children's lives during the public health emergency, my Department also ran a campaign to promote and encourage play, Let's Play Irelandwhich ran for many months during the pandemic.

My Department is presently engaging in the budgetary process for 2021 and in this context the importance of play in children's lives continues to be a priority. The outcomes of the budgetary process, including details on any Capital Funding to be made available in 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks.