Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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76. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding will be made available for a stadium (details supplied); and the details of funding provided by her Department to the stadium in the past five years. [33280/21]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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115. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she has had any communications with the management of a stadium (details supplied) to date; if she will take steps to prevent the sale of the stadium; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33281/21]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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126. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will help to develop and enhance a stadium (details supplied) to ensure women and men's football can continue to play in a modern stadium into the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33279/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 115 and 126 together.

The question of any possible sale of the stadium referred to by the Deputy is a matter for Dublin City Council in the first instance.

In terms of my role, my Department provides grant assistance for sporting facilities through the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

Under the SCEP, grants of up to €300,000 are available to community organisations, sports clubs, national governing bodies of sport and local authorities to develop or refurbish sports facilities. The stadium referred to by the Deputy received a provisional allocation of €71,000 under the 2018 round of the Programme but this has not been drawn down.

The latest round of the SCEP closed for applications on the 1st March and assessment work is underway. An announcement on the timing of the next round of the Programme will be made once these allocations have been finalised.

The National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of the LSSIF. The aim of the fund is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount (€300,000) available under the SCEP. The National Development Plan provided a capital allocation of at least €100m over the period to 2027 for the Fund. Approximately €86.4m has been allocated to 33 projects to date including an allocation of €918,750 to Dublin City Council towards the overall design cost for the redevelopment of the stadium to which the Deputy refers.

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 near future. This review will look at, inter alia, progress on all existing grants and the timing of a new call for proposals will also be considered.

A key consideration in the assessment of any applications under the SCEP and the LSSIF is the likelihood of increasing participation including female participation and the government is committed to continued investment in our sport infrastructure in the years ahead. Any future application for funding for the stadium referred to by the Deputy under either the SCEP or LSSIF will be considered on its own merits in line with the relevant assessment criteria.