Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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72. To ask the Minister for Culture, Culture, Communications and Sport the number of publicly funded athletics tracks and all-weather running facilities currently available, by county; and the level of capital investment provided for their maintenance and development in each of the past five years. [2627/26]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not maintain lists of sporting facilities, whether publicly or otherwise funded, and it is a matter for individual national governing bodies of sport, in this case Athletics Ireland, to maintain such lists.

However, Sport Ireland's Get Ireland Active database, launched in October 2023, represents the first phase of a comprehensive national database of sports facilities. The database currently consists of more than 15,000 opportunities to be active across the country, including sports and recreation facilities. The database is currently undergoing further development and once complete, Sport Ireland intends to launch a promotional campaign to raise awareness of Get Ireland Active and the benefits that it can offer.

The Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF), both of which can support athletics track projects.

The most recent two rounds of the CSFF were in 2020 and 2023. Over a quarter of a billion euro was allocated to 3,048 community sports clubs and facilities in 2024 under the 2023 round of the CSFF, representing the largest-ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland.

In line with previous rounds of the Fund, a review of the current funding round is being undertaken. I have asked my Department to prepare for a further round of the CSFF in 2026. It is anticipated that the next round will particularly target areas and sports that have been under-invested in over the years.

Details of all CSFF allocations are available on the Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/collections/sports-capital-programme-allocations/.

€9,571,472 has been allocated to 169 athletics projects since 2020 under CSFF. The following is a breakdown per county:

The table below provides details of funding allocated to athletics tracks under the most recent round of the Fund in 2024.

LSSIF 2024