Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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49. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if, in light of the success of Irish swimmers in the recent Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, and considering that there remains a serious deficit in swimming pool facilities, including in east Galway, if she will support the proposal to build a Connaught regional 50-metre, Olympic-size swimming pool in Loughrea, County Galway, close to the motorway and serving the Loughrea catchment area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38103/24]

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

Earlier this year, Minister Martin and I announced funding of up to €120 million under the new 2024 round of the LSSIF, which closed for applications on 1 July 2024. New swimming pool projects and the refurbishment of existing swimming pools were eligible to apply for grant funding under LSSIF 2024 subject to published guidelines and conditions of the scheme. No application was received under LSSIF 2024 for a swimming pool in Loughrea.

While the very high level of demand for this second round of the LSSIF strongly suggests that a future round will be required, any decisions on the timing of such a round will depend on the funding available and the pace of drawdown from rounds 1 and 2.