Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

519. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on an application by a club (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44411/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The application referred to was deemed valid under the terms and conditions of the Community Sport Facilities Fund (formerly the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme). However, under the terms and conditions of the programme, the maximum grant available for local club/organisation projects is €200,000.

As the club was previously provisionally allocated funding for this project under earlier rounds the amount provisionally allocated under the current round is reduced, to ensure that the total allocated for the project does not exceed the €200,000 maximum grant limit permitted.

My Department has outlined this explanation for the current provisional allocation directly to the club.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

520. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide a detailed breakdown of the allocation of €230.68 million for sport and recreation in Budget 2025 and specifically, the amount allocated for core funding for sports organisations as part of this allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44583/24]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

521. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide a detailed breakdown of the allocation of €230.58 million for sport and recreation in Budget 2025 and specifically, the amount allocated for capital spending under this allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44584/24]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

522. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht why the allocation of core funding to sports organisations in Budget 2025 does not meet the increased costs being faced by sports organisations, including pension auto enrolment, increase in minimum wage, increased cost of doing business and wage inflation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44585/24]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

523. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to set out in detail the spending of the €1 million fund for disability sport which was announced as part of Budget 2025; how it will be administered; who will benefit from it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44586/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 520 to 523, inclusive, together.

Continued Government investment is essential to increasing participation levels in all sports, across all sectors of society. When the National Sports Policy was published in 2018, it set a commitment to double investment in sport to more than €220 million by 2027. As a result of Budget 2025, the funding allocation for sport next year will be over €230 million. This means that two years ahead of schedule, this Government has more than doubled the funding for sport, compared to 2018 levels.

The total allocation to Sport in Budget 2025 is €230.681 million, which is made up of €124.316 million in current funding and €106.365 million in capital funding.

In 2018, the total annual core funding for National Governing Bodies for sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) stood at €16.9 million. That figure now stands at €30 million for 2025. Objectively, even with inflation accounted for, that is a substantial increase in funding over the lifetime of this Government. An extra €1.3 million in core funding was allocated under Budget 2025 to the NGBs and LSPs, and this increase once more exceeds the inflation rate. The core funding allocations to individual NGBs and LSPs for 2025, will be decided by Sport Ireland in due course.

As Sports Minister, I want to see participation levels in sport and physical activity maximised to the greatest extent possible. In that respect, I am deeply conscious of the participation gap that exists when it comes to people with disabilities participating in sport. Under Budget 2025, I allocated €1 million to a new and dedicated Disability in Sport funding stream, which will be administered by Sport Ireland. I look forward to seeing this funding used to support Sport Ireland in their work to ensure that everyone, of every ability, gets the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity. Further details and funding criteria for this scheme will be published by Sport Ireland in due course.

The Sport Ireland Campus is currently home to a diversity of sports and sport facilities and an additional €1.2 million is being allocated under Budget 2025 to the campus for its maintenance and further development. In addition, the Government recently granted approval for Sport Ireland to progress the development of a National Velodrome and Badminton Centre and a National Cricket Stadium at the Campus. The total capital allocation to Sport Ireland in 2025 is €11.7 million.

Following on from the recent announcement of an unprecedented €256 million provision for community sports clubs and facilities under the Community Sport Facilities Fund (formerly known as the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme) the capital allocation for this programme has been more than doubled in 2025 to €73.4 million.

This week, a record €173 million was announced for 35 projects across Ireland under the second round of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). €19.3 million in capital funding is being allocated to the LSSIF in 2025.