Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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305. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 313 of 28 September 2021, the reason for the delay by her officials to meet with a club (details supplied) regarding a sports grant in view of the commitment given by her in a Parliamentary reply that the meeting would happen. [54177/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As outlined in previous replies on this matter, the club to which the Deputy refers, was provisionally allocated a grant of €81,500 under the 2017 Sports Capital Programme (SCP) for the development of an artificial playing surface and a further €83,343 under the 2018 SCP towards the provision of floodlights and non-personal sports equipment. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the SCP, due to the value of the grants received by the club in the past, it is necessary to execute a Deed of Covenant and Charge in order to protect the public investment in the facility. These requirements were communicated to the club at provisional allocation stage and it was made clear that formal approval could not issue until the legal requirements were finalised.

I understand that my Department’s legal advisor, the Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO), has been in regular contact with the club’s solicitors in relation to some outstanding documentation. In this regard the CSSO has advised my officials that it first sought the required legal documentation on 6 November 2019. I am informed that the CSSO has contacted the club’s solicitors on multiple occasions seeking the necessary material but it remains outstanding. An official from my Department spoke with the club's designated contact officer directly on 3rd November in relation to the outstanding documentation required to permit progression of the grants to formal approval stage. My Department wrote to the club following that contact and offered to arrange a further meeting with the club should that be deemed helpful. This correspondence also stated that, in view of the ongoing delay finalising the legal issues, the Department would be happy to consider any request to extend the deadline for advancing the grant.

As previously stated, it will not be possible to provide formal approval for the provisionally allocated grants until the CSSO confirms that all legal formalities have been completed. Once the CSSO confirmation is received there will be no undue delay in progressing the allocations to formal approval stage and subsequently paying the grants subject to the other necessary documentation being submitted by the club.