Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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128. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if specific funding will be provided to enhance and develop sport facilities in the inner-city area of Dublin. [33282/21]

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 recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1 billion. 

The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritise the investment in disadvantaged areas.   The latest 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 and includes many applications for projects in Dublin's inner city. The scoring system and assessment manual for the 2020 round has now been finalised and is available at www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie.  The scoring system  prioritises projects from disadvantaged areas such as parts of Dublin's inner-city. 

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. As soon as this process is complete all applicants will be informed of the outcome of the assessment of their application.