Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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1136. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on the need to maintain financial support for an organisation (details supplied) through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21053/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department operates two relevant capital funding programmes, namely the Community Sports Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). In 2024 over a quarter of a billion euro was allocated to community sports clubs and facilities from the CSFF while grants totalling €173 million were awarded from the LSSIF. This is a an all-time record investment level in sport in Ireland. There is no record of any application for funding under CSFF for the organisation referenced by the Deputy.

In line with previous rounds of the programme, a review of the current funding round will be undertaken and that review will inform the timing of the next round of the CSFF. However, I would anticipate that the next round should be announced in 2026.

With regard to a future round of the LSSIF, I am committed to ensuring sustained investment in sports facilities to meet our ambitious goals for sports participation nationwide. The Programme for Government commits to maintaining sports funding to get more people participating in all levels of sport, particularly targeting cohorts in society where there are lower than average participation levels including people with disabilities and older people.