Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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33. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will consider reallocating the €2 million allocated under the LSSIF to an organisation (details supplied) for a centre of excellence in Cork which has not been drawn down to the development of both football and community facilities at the site in Glanmire; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24226/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the LSSIF is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects where the Exchequer investment would be greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP).

The first allocations under LSSIF were announced in January 2020 and included an allocation of €2,025,699 for the Glanmire project. The grant for the Glanmire project was provisionally awarded to cover, inter alia, the development of grass pitches, floodlighting, an artificial pitch and dressing rooms. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) informed my Department in early May 2023 that its Board and Executive had made the decision not to proceed with the Glanmire project location as first proposed in 2015.

The FAI confirmed that, following a review of the project, the original proposal no longer represented the greatest return on investment for all parties involved. Furthermore, the FAI confirmed that it remained committed to supporting the development of a Munster Centre of Excellence facility in the Cork region.

In addition, the FAI requested that the LSSIF grant allocation of €2,025,699 would still be made available for a location in Cork. It also advised that it would continue to work with local stakeholders on identifying a new location for the Munster Centre of Excellence facility in the Cork region and would inform my department once a location is identified.

Any proposal by the FAI in relation to this project must be in accordance with the established LSSIF guidelines and in order to allow the project to move to the next stage, the FAI must complete the necessary due diligence procedures, as set out.