Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the sports capital programmes, that is, local, regional and large scale projects; the timelines in respect of each in relation to future allocation announcements and opening for applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20947/21]

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 1st 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.  Local and regional allocations will be announced at the same time.  

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.