Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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176. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason Kildare County Council received just €3 million from an application for large-scale sport infrastructure fund moneys for Sallins park, a project which requires €17 to 19 million; her plans to address the shortfall; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45769/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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On Monday, 4 November, Minister Martin and I announced the second round of funding allocations under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). This follows the first LSSIF round of allocations announced in January 2020. The total amount of grants awarded under this round is €173 million, benefiting 35 individual projects. With this announcement, the cumulative investment from the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund since 2020 now stands €297 million.

All applications submitted under the LSSIF Fund were required to have the prioritised endorsement of a National Governing Body for Sport (NGB) or of a local authority. This prioritisation was one of a number of factors taken into account in the assessment and ultimate ranking of projects. It was informed by factors such as the potential to enhance sports participation, sustainability, similar access for both men and women, and the ability to execute the project within a specified timeframe.

The allocation in respect of Sallins Park reflects the assessment of the application and in particular the eligibility of certain aspects of the application. Funding under LSSIF is specifically targeted at sports infrastructure elements of proposed projects.