Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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286. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports provided to strengthen and develop sports facilities and organisations since 27 June 2020. [62171/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Sport Ireland is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, including the allocation of funding under its various programmes. This includes programmes such as Core Funding for National Governing Bodies of Sport, High Performance Programme, and Women in Sport Programme.

I have referred the Deputy’s question to Sport Ireland for direct reply in relation to funding and other supports provided by it to sporting organisations since 2020. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a reply is not received within 10 days.

With regard to Covid-19 funding, a total Covid-19 funding package of €80 million was provided in 2021 to support the sport sector. This followed on from a funding package of €88.5m in 2020. This significant investment over the two years was a critical support which benefited all levels of the sport sector, including thousands of grassroots clubs across the country. It has ensured that the important sporting infrastructure that has taken many years to develop was protected.

Sport Ireland is currently in the process of allocating a further Covid-19 funding package amounting to €15 million for 2022.

As part of Budget 2023, €35 million is being made available to help alleviate the impact of increased energy costs for sports clubs and organisations with a view to ensuring that everyone can continue to enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity over the winter months. The Sports Energy Support Scheme (SESS) is being run by Sport Ireland and the funding will be distributed in the main through the National Governing Bodies of Sport in like manner to the suite of Covid supports provided to the sports sector throughout the past 2 years.

The Scheme will support sporting organisations with the rising energy costs associated with the provision of sport, for example, around increased indoor activity and the provision of outdoor floodlighting, with a particular emphasis on sports clubs with dedicated facilities.

With regard to capital support for the development of sporting facilities, 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, including many football developments, have now benefited from 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. The final allocations under this latest round were announced in May of this year and the total allocation of over €166 million represented the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. The priority in the short term is to advance the successful applications under the 2020 round to "formal approval" and grant drawdown stage which requires detailed engagement with all grantees. My Department is now 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, I hope to announce the exact timing of the next round but it is hoped to have it open for applications early in the new year.

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 first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and, thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. 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. 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.