Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on her Department’s capital investment in sports projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32433/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to my Department's responsibilities, three schemes provide capital grant assistance for the development and improvement of sports facilities: The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme, the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund and the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme.

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 €1.15 billion.The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising the investment in disadvantaged areas.

The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1 March 2021 and by the deadline a record 3,106 applications were submitted. 

Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6 million were announced on 6 August, 2021.

The remaining capital applications were then assessed and 1,865 individual grant offers with a total value of over €143.8 million were announced on Friday 11 February 2022. 

Unsuccessful applicants were able to appeal the Department's decision. The deadline for submission of capital appeals was Monday 4 April and 146 appeals were received. The assessment of all appeals is complete and the consequent allocations amounting to €6.1 million were announced on Tuesday 31 May. 

The total allocation of €150 million for capital sports projects represented the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP.  

The priority in the short term is to advance the 2,895 successful applications under the 2020 round to "formal approval" and grant drawdown stage which requires detailed engagement with all grantees. Now that the appeal process is complete, my Department will also undertake a full review of all aspects of the 2020 round of the SCEP and any recommendations arising will be reflected in the terms and conditions of the next round.  The precise timing of this next round of the Programme will be announced once this review is complete. 

Funding is also provided by my Department for sports facilities under the Large  Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF), designed for projects where the grant sought is greater than the maximum available under the SCEP. The LSSIF was launched in 2018 to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, including swimming pools, with at least €100 million being made available over the period to 2027.The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and, thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. The projects that received provisional allocations and the amounts provisionally awarded to them are published on the Department's website.

While the priority in the short term is to advance all of the projects that were allocated funding, as it is now over two years since the first allocations were made, and in view of the issues faced by grantees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was considered timely to review progress on all projects allocated grants. My Department has now met with all successful grantees and work is at an advanced stage in drafting the review.

All unsuccessful LSSIF applicants were given the opportunity to appeal the Department’s decision if it was felt than an error was made in the assessment process. By the deadline six appeals were received, consisting of five under Stream 1 (Design) and one under Stream 2 (Construction). All appeals were assessed by officials who were not involved in the initial assessment process and a final decision on the LSSIF appeals will be made as part of the review which should be completed shortly.

Once the review is complete the scope for awarding any additional grants, adjusting the level of existing grants and the timing of any new call for proposals will be considered.

The Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme(LASPP) provides grant aid towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. A total of 52 pools have been completed under the LASPP and three swimming pool projects (Lucan, Buncrana and Edenderry) remain in the programme with the Lucan project currently under construction. Exchequer support for any new swimming pool projects is now being provided under the LSSIF.

In relation to current funding for sport, this is allocated by Sport Ireland across its various programmes. Sport Ireland does not provide direct funding for clubs but channels the funding through the relevant National Governing Body of Sport.  In addition, there are funding opportunities available to sports clubs and community groups through the network of Local Sports Partnerships.