Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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591. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide an update and timeline on LSSIF and sports capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47682/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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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 Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF), benefitting over forty sports, as well as multi-sport facilities, throughout the country. This represents the largest-ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland.

In line with previous rounds of the programme, a review of the current funding round is being 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.

The Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) was established in 2018 to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, typically those requiring investments greater than the maximum available under the CSFF

The allocations under the first LSSIF round were announced in January 2020 and totaled €86.4 million to 33 different projects. Additional funding of €37.6 million was allocated to 27 of these projects in December 2023, bringing the total awarded under LSSIF 2018 to €124 million.

Grants totaling €173 million, benefiting 35 individual projects, were allocated under the second (2024) round of LSSIF in November 2024. The cumulative total allocated from the LSSIF therefore now stands at €297 million.

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.

My 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 determining the detailed spending allocations within my Department under the National Development Plan as recently agreed by Government.