Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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269. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the Chief State Solicitor's Office cleared a sports capital grant for payment for a club (details supplied); if so, when payment is likely to issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55457/21]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The GAA 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. The CSSO has contacted the club’s solicitors on a number of occasions subsequently seeking this documentation. I understand that the club's solicitor has been in contact with the CSSO in recent days but the matter is not yet finalised.

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.