Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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138. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to provide a timeframe for the next round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund grants opening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22925/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Community Sports Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

Over a quarter of a billion euro was allocated to 3,048 community sports clubs and facilities in 2024 from the 2023 round of the CSFF, representing the largest-ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland. Details of these allocations are available on the Department's website www.gov.ie/en/publication/3f9fa-community-sport-facilities-funding/. 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.

In 2024, the second round of LSSIF received an unprecedented demand for funding. On 4 November 2024, grants totalling €173 million were awarded to 35 projects. Details of these allocations are available on the Department's website www.gov.ie/en/service/6f3f3-large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif-2024/#lssif-allocations. As a result of the significant demand, a range of valid applications did not receive an LSSIF allocation at the initial allocation stage.

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.

My current focus is on ensuring project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF, 2019 and 2024, and this process will inform any decisions regarding the timing of a future round. I would expect however that the period of time to a future LSSIF round will be less than the period of time between the first and second rounds.