Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund approved for the centre of excellence in Glanmire, Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9914/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) was established under the National Sports Policy, published on 25 July 2018, to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, typically those requiring investments greater than the maximum available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP).

The cumulative investment from the LSSIF since 2020 is €297 million of which €54.379 million was allocated towards projects put forward by the Football Association of Ireland (the FAI). As part of this, the Department has provided a provisional allocation of €2,025,699 to the Munster Centre of Excellence in Glanmire. The proposed project involved the development of grass pitches, an astro-turf facility, floodlighting and dressing rooms.

The FAI wrote to the Department on 10 May 2023 to advise that it no longer intended to proceed with the LSSIF-funded Centre of Excellence in Glanmire. According to the FAI, the decision not to proceed with the proposal was due to the fact that the original proposal “no longer represents the greatest return on investment for the parties involved”.

It is understood that the FAI is looking at an alternative site to deliver a Centre of Excellence for soccer in Cork and the Department will consider a request to repurpose the original grant provided the overall objectives of the project are still met. Any updated proposal by the FAI for this project must be in accordance with the established LSSIF guidelines and, in order to allow the project to move to the next stage, the FAI must complete the necessary due diligence procedures.

In addition, the Programme For Government commits to supporting the sporting ecosystem so that more people can participate, reap the benefits of sport, and fulfil their potential from grassroots right up to high performance level. It will achieve this through a number of measures including continuing to support the funding of sports capital projects and assessing the distribution of funding to maximise participation in all sports at community and national level and continuing to work with sporting organisations to promote equality of access to sporting facilities and to drive increased participation in sport.