James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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1366. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the details of capital funding programmes or grants which his Department or any body under his aegis has responsibility, for which community organisations are eligible to apply for; the details of any funding programme or grant that is currently open or the date of when a subsequent prospective funding programme or grant is scheduled to be opened that a community organisation is eligible to apply for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43180/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The details sought by the Deputy in respect of capital funding programmes or grants for which my Department has responsibility are outlined below. Regarding bodies and agencies under my Department’s remit, these are operational matters for the agencies themselves.

Cultural Capital Scheme

Under Stream E of the Cultural Capital Scheme, grants of up to €20,000 are available to not-for-profit dedicated arts and culture organisations at 85% grant funding rate. Local authority owned facilities are subject to a maximum 60% grant funding rate.

Larger grants of up to €50,000 are provided under Stream E at a maximum grant funding rate of 70%, or 60% for local authority owned facilities. Full details are available on the Department’s website at the following link: gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/publications/creative-arts-grants-and-funding/

Community Sports Facilities fund

The Community Sports Facilities fund (CSFF) provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. Grants are available to voluntary, not-for profit sports clubs, community groups, NGBs, and local authorities. Third level colleges, Education and Training Boards) and schools may only apply for funding jointly with sports clubs or organisations.

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 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.

Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund

The Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) was established to provide support for larger sports facility projects, typically those requiring investments greater than the maximum available under the Community Sport Facilities Fund. Applications to the grant scheme must be made by either a National Governing Body (NGB) or local authority. This does not preclude the involvement of other organisations in the application process; however, all applications must be submitted by an NGB or local authority.

The total LSSIF investment currently stands at €297 million, with funding allocations provided to 68 large-scale projects. Details of these allocations are available on the Department's website under the following links: gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/services/large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif-2024/, gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/services/large-scale-sport-infrastructure-fund-lssif-2018/ . The current focus is on ensuring project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF, 2018 and 2024, and this process will inform any decisions regarding the timing of a future round. The timing will also be considered in the context of the determining the detailed spending allocations within the Department under the National Development Plan as recently agreed by Government.