Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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178. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will address a matter (details suppled) regarding funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49198/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to possible capital supports for the club in question, 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 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. The total allocation of €150 million for capital projects, and €166.6 million for the 2020 round in total, represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP.

Following completion of the appeal process, my Department is undertaking 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. Following the completion of the review, the Department will announce the exact timing of the next round but it is hoped to have it open for applications early in the new year.

In relation to sports participation generally, a fundamental aim of the National Sports Policy is to increase the levels of participation across the population, with a specific focus on less represented groups including women and girls. In May 2022, my Department held a Youth Stakeholder Forum on sport, where we gathered young people together in order to identify the barriers that are keeping young people from sport and gain some insight into how those barriers could be addressed. A report on that forum has been drafted and will help inform and direct the measures my Department takes to address youth participation in sport.

In May 2021, Sport Ireland published its Participation Plan 2021-2024 and is now undertaking several initiatives under the Plan for children and young people, which will be delivered through Local Sports Partnerships, National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and other partners.

In 2021, Sport Ireland launched the Girls Get Active Research Report. Following on from that report, Sport Ireland created a new funding strand through Dormant Accounts Funding to support Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) in the creation of physical activity programmes targeting teenage girls.

At present, Sport Ireland is working to establish a brand identity for teenage girls’ programmes rolled out by LSPs and NGBs. Sport Ireland is also tendering for the roll out of a communication and activation campaign targeting inactive teenage girls in Ireland. This will be the first time a dedicated national physical activity campaign has ever been created for this target group and highlights Sport Ireland’s commitment in trying to motivate teenage girls to be more active.

Finally, it is suggested that the club mentioned by the Deputy should also contact its parent NGB, the Football Association of Ireland, directly to see what additional supports are available to it.