Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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444. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the efforts that are being made to increase the number of playing pitches available in each local authority nationwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1139/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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445. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of artificial playing pitches supported by sports capital funding that have been built across the State in each of the past ten years; their location by local authority; if they are designated for use by specific sports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1142/23]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 and 445 together.

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. As well as sports organisations, applications are accepted from local authorities and artificial playing surfaces are covered by the Programme. Significant investment has been made under the Programme in recent years with over 13,000 projects benefitting 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.

In terms of the most recent investment, 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. Following the conclusion of the appeals process, the final set of allocations were announced at the end of May last year. The total allocation of €166.6 million for the 2020 round represented the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. All valid capital applications for improvements to playing pitches submitted by sports organisations and local authorities received a grant offer. In this regard, details of all allocations under the 2020 and previous rounds of the SCEP can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/471ed5-sports-capital-allocations/

With regard to whether the all weather pitches in receipt of support are designated for a particular sport, all applicants, including local authorities, are required to provide details at application stage of the purpose of the project including who is likely to use the proposed facility. My Department prioritises facilities that are shared by a number of organisations and sports.

With regard to future investment, following the announcement of the final set of SCEP allocations under the 2020 round in May of last year, my Department commenced a full review of all aspects of the round. A draft of the Review is complete and I expect to be in a position to publish it shortly. Any recommendations arising from the Review will be reflected in the next round. Furthermore, my officials are engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the next round of the SCEP.Once this process is concluded, I will announce the exact dates from which new applications will be accepted.

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 and applications were confined to local authorities and National Governing Bodies of Sport. The first allocations under the LSSIF were announced in January 2020. Thus far, approximately €86.4 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals. The projects that received provisional allocations including local authority led projects are published on the Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/service/4113b3-large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif/