Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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26. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports both capital and current expected to assist sports facilities across Ireland recognising the significant positive impact they have on communities and well-being; the way she plans to support these into the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47968/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to current supports, earlier today Minister Catherine Martin and I announced that additional current funding of up to €65 million will be available to support the sport sector this year. Allied to the additional current expenditure of €26.3 million already provided to Sport Ireland, a total of €91.3 million will have been allocated in additional current funding to support the sport sector in 2021.

This package is intended to support National Governing Bodies of Sport and sports clubs arising from the significant impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the sports sector. The package includes funding for a swimming pools/facilities fund to assist pools and facilities in reopening. The schemes are being run by Sport Ireland, who are engaging with the sector at present in relation to the application process.

In 2020, a total Covid-19 funding package of €88.5 million in current funding was provided to support the sport sector.

In relation to providing capital assistance for new sports facilities, my Department operates two grant schemes.

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, over 3,100 applications were submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.

The scoring system and assessment procedures were published earlier this year and all applications are being assessed accordingly. Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6m were announced on the 6th August. The remaining applications for capital works are now being assessed with allocations expected before the end of this year. Once these allocations are finalised an announcement will made in relation to the opening of the next round of the Programme.

The Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) is designed for projects where the grant sought is greater than the maximum available under the SCEP. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and thus far, approximately €86.4m has been awarded to 33 different proposals. The priority in the short term is to advance all of these projects. As it is now over 18 months since the first allocations were made, and in view of the issues faced by grantees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is timely to review progress on all projects. My Department is engaging with all grantees in this regard. The timing of any new call for proposals is also being considered and it is expected that the Review will be completed in the coming months.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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27. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the percentage of sports capital grants awarded that were drawn down for each local authority for the past three years; the amount that has not been drawn down for each of the past three years; if she will reinstate an allocation for individual boxing clubs to apply directly for sports capital grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46657/21]

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 Programme is open for applications from, inter alia, sports clubs, community organisations and local authorities. The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1st March 2021 and the final allocations under this round are expected to be announced before the end of the year.

Because of the nature of the Programme it can take grantees a number of years to draw down their grants. Reasons in this regard include the need to ensure the necessary legal requirements are met, the requirement for grantees go through appropriate tender procedures and to ensure the necessary own-funding elements to advance the project are in place.

Details of all allocations, including those to Local Authorities, made under the SCEP since 2002 are published at www.gov.ie/en/collection/471ed5-sports-capital-allocations/. Likewise details of all payments, including those to Local Authorities, made under the SCEP since 2011 are available at www.gov.ie/en/collection/efc6c4-sports-capital-programmes-payments/.

In relation to boxing clubs, all boxing clubs are entitled to apply directly for Sports Capital and Equipment funding up to a value of €150,000 for local projects. In cases where a club does not own a premises, it is still permissible to apply for capital grants up to a value of €50,000. A copy of the latest "Guide to Making an Application" which sets out the terms and conditions of the scheme is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/d13385-sports-capital-programme/#introduction.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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28. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of applications her Department has received for sports capital grants; the number that have been validated; if she will provide a breakdown for each sport of the applications received; when she expects to be in a position to announce the successful grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46656/21]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on the sports capital programme. [47460/21]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if consideration will be given to increasing the funding under the 2021 sports capital and equipment programme in view of the large number of applications received by her Department; when the funding is likely to be announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47850/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 41 and 50 together.

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, over 3,100 applications were submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received. A list of all applications received and the associated sport can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/b62b8-sports-capital-and-equipment-programme-2020-applications/

The scoring system and assessment procedures were published earlier this year and all applications are being assessed accordingly. Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6m were announced on the 6th August.

The remaining applications for capital works are now being assessed. Given the large number of applications received, this work is likely to take a number of months to complete with allocations expected to be announced before the end of this year.

A decision on the total allocation amount will not be made until all applications have been assessed. Every effort will be made to fund as many worthwhile projects as possible while providing a sufficient level of grant to ensure the projects are viable.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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29. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of a review into the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund; and the steps required by Monaghan County Council on foot of the review to secure funding towards the provision of a public swimming pool in Carrickmacross. [47948/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Sports Policy as published in 2018 provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The scheme is designed for projects where the grant being sought is greater than the maximum grant available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP). The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and thus far, approximately €86.4m has been awarded to 33 different proposals.

All applications under the LSSIF were assessed in accordance with the published scoring criteria. The total funding applied for under the scheme significantly exceeded the amount available to allocate and it was not possible to allocate grants to many worthy projects.

While the priority in the short term is to advance all of the successful projects, as it is now over 18 months since the first allocations were made, and in view of the issues faced by grantees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is timely to review progress on all projects allocated grants. My Department is engaging with all grantees in this regard.

Once that review is complete the scope for awarding new grants to projects which missed out under the first set of allocations and the timing of any new call for proposals will be considered. My Department will be in touch with all relevant local authorities at that stage. It is expected that the review will be completed in the coming months.