Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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127. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when applications will open on the 2023 sports capital funding programme; when the applications will close; when the allocations for 2023 will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34523/23]

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.

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 the 2020 round were announced on 31 May last year and the total allocation of €166.6 million represents the highest level of allocation ever made under the SCEP. Details of all allocations can be found on the Department's website.

Following completion of the appeal process, my Department commenced a full review of all aspects of the 2020 round of the SCEP. This Review has now been published and is available on the Department’s website. Once the Review was finalised, I asked my officials to draft the "Guide to Making an Application" for the 2023 round to reflect the recommendations in the Review. This work is now complete and today (12 July) Minister Martin and I published the new "Guide to Making an Application" for the 2023 round. We also announced that the Programme itself will be open for applications from 17 July until 8 September and I look forward to seeing a high level of applications for worthwhile sports projects from right across the country. The timeframe for completing the assessment process will be dependent on the number of applications received and I will make a further announcement in this regard after the dealine date.