Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on large-scale sport infrastructure fund applications for Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45472/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for an update on a large-scale sport infrastructure fund application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45473/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 186 together.

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 reaches €297 million.

All applications submitted under the LSSIF 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 announcement on Monday included an allocation of €1m in respect of the Cork NW Sports Hub for an all weather facility in Cork City as well as €2m in respect of the development of an athletics track in Mallow. Under the first LSSIF round, projects in Cork were allocated over €19.7m for four projects.