Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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55. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the Munster football centre of excellence in Glanmire; the interaction that she has had with an organisation (details supplied) and Cork city in this regard; the status of the grant money allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56518/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) was launched in 2018 to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects with at least €100 million being made available over the period to 2027.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) with the support of Cork County Council submitted an application under the LSSIF for construction funding for Phase 1 of the Munster Football Centre of Excellence in Glanmire. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and included an allocation of €2,025,699 for the Glanmire project. Details of all the LSSIF allocations can be found at www.gov.ie/en/service/4113b3-large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif/.

The grant for the Glanmire project was provisionally awarded to cover, inter alia, the development of grass pitches, floodlighting, an artificial pitch and dressing rooms. Advancing the project is obviously a matter for the grantee in the first instance. My Department has however, been engaging with all grantees in recent months as part of an ongoing review of all LSSIF projects. In this regard, I understand that the FAI and the Council are in ongoing discussions to finalise the plans for the new facility. It will then be a matter for the FAI to complete the necessary due diligence procedures to allow the project to move to the next stage. From my Department's perspective however, the grant allocation remains fully in place.