Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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176. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will indicate the sporting organisations throughout the country that were impeded from meeting their targets arising from previous sport grant allocations and continue to be allowed to rearrange their schedules on foot of departmental approval; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57218/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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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 final set of allocations were announced in May of this year and the total allocation of €166.6 million represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP.

While the priority in the short term is to advance the successful applications, which number almost 2,900, under the 2020 round of the SCEP to "formal approval" and grant drawdown stage, my Department continues to support and guide grantees from past rounds as they manage the grants awarded. This support entails, inter alia, detailed, ongoing engagement with all grantees. Where grantees demonstrate reasons for unavoidable delays, my Department's approach is to accommodate any reasonable requests for extensions. Any organisation requiring an extension to the timeframe for drawing down a grant should contact the Sports Capital Division of my Department.