Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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85. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if additional funding will be provided to local authorities to assist with the purchase of additional playing and sports facilities in larger towns; if consideration will be given to a pilot project for a town in County Kildare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27387/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

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. Grants are available to sports clubs, voluntary and community groups, national governing bodies of sport, and local authorities.

While the programme funds a broad range of projects, it does not fund the purchase of land or buildings. Full details of the programme and the type of projects funded can be found at . It should be noted that applications can be submitted by any sports club for sports equipment even in cases where they do not own land. In addition, clubs who do not own land or have a registered lease can apply for capital funding of up to €50,000 provided the owner of the land confirms that he/she has no intention of taking the facility from the club for a minimum of 5 years.

The National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of 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).

Minister Martin and I recently announced that funding of up to €120 million is being made available under the new round of the LSSIF which is open for applications until 3pm on Monday 1 July 2024. The LSSIF does not fund the purchase of land or buildings. The LSSIF homepage on my Department's website includes full details of the fund.

A separate tax relief scheme for donations to sports clubs may be used by any sports club or organisations to assist in funding the acquisition of land or a building, developing facilities or purchasing fixed non-personal equipment for sports activities, or repaying a loan for any of these purposes. More information in this regard can be found at .