Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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425. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she expects to be in a position to assist the various sporting organisations nationally by way of grants or other assistance throughout the course of 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22343/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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A Covid-19 funding package of €88.5 million was provided last year to support the sport sector. This significant investment benefited all levels of the sport sector, including thousands of grassroots clubs across the country, and provided some certainty for sporting organisations in their planning for 2021.

I fully recognise that the financial and operational challenges associated with Covid-19 will continue well into this year and many sporting organisations and clubs are facing financial challenges again this year. 

Last week, Sport Ireland announced the allocation of €40 million in funding to support sport at all levels, through its annual grant funding schemes for National Governing Bodies, Local Sports Partnerships and high performance athletes. 

Additional funding of €26 million was allocated for Sport Ireland in Budget 2021 which will ensure that we can continue to support our valued sport sector.  This includes funding to provide for supports to the sector to meet the ongoing challenges of Covid-19. Decisions in relation to how this funding will be allocated and the criteria to be applied will be made by Sport Ireland in the coming months as the financial position of the sector becomes clearer.

Sport Ireland is in ongoing communication with NGBs and is assessing the financial needs of the sector for this year.  In addition, I am engaging with NGBs both bilaterally and through the Covid-19 Sports Monitoring Group, which met most recently on 9 April, with regard to the supports required.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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426. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her Department is expected to offer further capital sports grants in the sporting sector throughout 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22344/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country.

The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March. By the closing date, 3,106 applications were submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.

The scoring system and assessment manual for the 2020 round has now been finalised and is available at www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie. Given the record number of applications and the detailed information contained in each application, the assessment process will take a number of months to complete.  It is envisaged that allocations to applications for equipment- only will be made first during the Summer with allocations to other capital projects announced before the end of the year.

In relation to larger projects, the National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The National Development Plan provided a capital allocation of at least €100m over the period to 2027 for the Fund. The aim of the fund is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP. 

Approximately €86.4m of this allocation has already been awarded to 33 proposals and the priority in the short term is on advancing these projects. While it is not proposed to open the LSSIF for new applications at present, my Department is undertaking a review of the LSSIF which is expected to be complete in the coming months. This review will consider, inter alia, progress on all existing grants and whether any additional grants should be awarded including to previously unsuccessful applications. The timing of any new call for proposals will also be considered. Any new allocations or a new call for proposals will be dependent on receiving additional funding for the LSSIF following the completion of the review of the National Development Plan.