David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will increase the funding available to the current round of the sports capital programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31397/21]

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, 2021. 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. No decision on allocations will be made until all applications have been assessed. While a minimum of €40m is available, any additional resources will be considered in the context of the review of the National Development Plan and an analysis of the likely drawdown demands in the coming years for older SCEP grants.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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107. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the expected timeframe for the processing and finalisation of the 2021 sports capital grant applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32300/21]

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, 2021. 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 for applications for sports equipment- only will be made first during the Summer with allocations to other capital projects announced before the end of the year. At least €40 million is being made available for allocation and local and regional allocations will be announced at the same time. As soon as this process is complete all applicants will be informed of the outcome of the assessment of their application.