Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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187. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of applicants for the previous two rounds of the sports capital programme who were granted funding but did not draw down the grants fully, setting out for each round of the sports capital programme the number of grants fully outstanding, the number of grants partially drawn down, the number of grants fully drawn down and the total number of grants allocated, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20444/23]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, 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.

Under the two most recent rounds of the programme, in 2018 and 2020, a total of 4,535 grants were allocated. The final grants under the 2020 round were announced on Tuesday 31 May last year and the total allocation of €166.6 million for the 2020 round represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. The priority in the short term is to advance the successful applications to "formal approval" and grant drawdown stage. In this regard, it can take some grantees a number of years to fully draw down their grants due to the need to fully comply with the terms and conditions of the Programme. These requirements include the need to obtain a number of quotations for the work, complying with the legal requirements of the Programme and ensuring that all tax clearance requirements are adhered to.

A list of all allocations under all recent rounds of the SCEP is published on my Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/471ed5-sports-capital-allocations/

A full list of all payments made can also be viewed on my Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/efc6c4-sports-capital-programmes-payments/