2026-05-26

We move onto the next Topical Issue in the name of Deputy Aidan Farrelly. It is to ask the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Deputy O'Donovan, to discuss the development of a public, multi-sport recreational facility in Sallins, County Kildare.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue this evening. I am not sure if he has been to Sallins, County Kildare. I know he has had many a nice day in Kildare previously. Sallins is a growing town with a population of over 6,000 according to the most recent census. The Minister of State can imagine the news in 2024 when the community was awarded €3 million as part of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. It promised to be a very exciting time for the community. The town is served well by Sallins GAA and Sallins Celtic, along with many other clubs. These amenity lands will include a number of multi-use pitches for the likes of GAA, soccer and cricket. There will be many uses. What the community cannot comprehend, however, is how, two years on from that announcement, there has not been an iota of movement in expenditure with regard to the project. We know the project is being led by the local authority. It has recently finished a wonderful project in Kerdiffstown where the old refuse site has been transformed into a recreational amenity space. To see it is to believe it. It is marvellous. The council has the authority and competency to be able to deliver this project but the Department has asked for more information over and over again and another business case. It talks about gateways 1, 2 and 3 and it has tied the project in a level of bureaucracy that I have never seen before. A number of projects were part of that tranche, totalling nearly €170 million. Out of that €170 million, I wonder how many other communities have struggled to even press the start button on their project because of this level of bureaucracy and the Department's mistrust of local authorities or bodies that have managed to secure the funding in the first place by going through such a rigorous application process. The issue was the budget. The cost of the project in the first instance was far in excess of €3 million. When the €3 million was allocated, it was bit of a case of going back to the drawing board. The council stepped in and matched that funding with another €3 million, but it still required a rethink of the project. What it boils down to now is a need for leadership. We need to see the money coming from the Department to Sallins, County Kildare. It is a simple and straightforward thing. Two years later, that is not too much to ask. It needs the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy McConalogue, to act. I ask the Minister of State to take this back to his colleague this evening. The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, needs to show a bit of leadership, convene a meeting between all the stakeholders to determine where the problems lie and ensure we deliver this project for the community. This is happening in a context where the variation of the county development plan is open for public consultation this week. Sallins Celtic is facing the prospect of the land it plays on being rezoned for residential use. It is potentially looking at a situation where it will be homeless in the near future. There is, therefore, an urgency about this matter. I ask the Minister of State to consider that in his communications with the Minister of State with responsibility for this area. I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue this evening.

I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents, which I am taking on behalf of Minister of State, Deputy Charlie McConalogue. Under the 2024 round of the large-scale sports infrastructure Fund, LSSIF, Kildare County Council applied for funding for the development of Sallins Park Community Sports Centre, which the Deputy referenced. The project was allocated €3 million for phase 1 of the development. Phase 1 consists of the development of five pitches and all associated works. Two pitches for Gaelic games and soccer will be completed, with the remaining pitches to be developed into grass training pitches. It is envisaged that the training pitches will be developed into soccer, GAA and cricket pitches in phase 2. The project will also include access roads, paths and a car park. As with all large-scale capital expenditure, each project must undergo assessments, as required by the infrastructure guidelines set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. This project is currently being assessed at approval gate 1. The required documentation has been examined by the Department, which has sought updated information in relation to some aspects. The Department anticipates the project will pass approval gate 1 in the coming weeks. The Department and Kildare County Council are in regular contact regarding the project. I note the Deputy's advocacy on behalf of his constituents about how important this particular piece of infrastructure is. Kildare County Council was also allocated €500,000 under the community sports facilities fund, CSFF, in 2024 for the development of pitches at Sallins Park Community Sports Centre. However, as it was subsequently allocated €3 million under the LSSIF scheme, it now plans to apply to repurpose the CSFF grant for an alternative project. Looking at the wider picture regarding capital investment in sport, the Department operates two capital programmes for sport, namely, the CSFF and the large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. Over €250 million 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. In line with previous rounds of the fund, a review of the previous funding round has been undertaken and will be finalised shortly. It is anticipated that the next CSFF round will particularly target areas and sports that have been underinvested in over the years. The Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, and the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, hope to open a new round in the coming months. The large scale sport infrastructure fund was established to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, typically those requiring investments greater than the maximum available under the community sport facilities fund. A total of €86.4 million was awarded to 35 different projects under the first round of LSSIF in 2018. 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 totalling €173 million benefitting 35 individual projects were allocated under the second round of the large scale sport infrastructure fund in November 2024. With this announcement, the cumulative investment from the large scale sport infrastructure fund since 2020 now stands at €297 million. I will bring back the point the Deputy raised in respect of the development of the Sallins Park community sports centre to the Minister and the Department.

You can see it in the response - "The Department anticipates the project will pass approval gate 1 in the coming weeks" - but it is two years since the funding was secured. I will emphasise a couple of points. From the Sallins perspective, it is Kildare County Council running this. It is not a community group that may or may not have the time. It is the local authority running this project. How can the local authority not be trusted, having to put it through so many hoops or what you might want to call "gateways"? I think four or five times the Department came back to the council looking for more information. It is borderline ridiculous at this point. People in Kildare always seem to be on the suffering end whereby the housing is coming but so are the congestion, lack of services and slow pace with which important social infrastructure is delivered. From a public accounts perspective, I really query whether Sallins is alone in this. The Minister of State said there may be another round in the coming months. The allocation is brilliant. This type of money and investment in our communities is brilliant but when you get past the headline and look at the ability to draw down that money, I am really concerned Sallins is not alone and there will be many other projects that have gone through a similar gateway fiasco, where they have the funds but cannot access them. That is a problem we need to consider collectively. I will bring the matter to the Committee of Public Accounts.

I again thank Deputy Farrelly for the opportunity to discuss the development of Sallins Park community sports centre. I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy McConalogue. County Kildare received significant capital funding for sports infrastructure over the past number of years. Specifically on Sallins Park community sports centre, this project is currently being assessed at approval gate 1. Required documentation has been examined by the Department, which sought updated information on some aspects. The Department expects the project will pass approval gate 1 in the coming weeks. The Department and Kildare County Council are in regular contact regarding the project. It is clear the Government is committed to the success of Irish sport with record investment in our sport facilities, supporting the ambition of high-performance athletes as never before and fundamentally ensuring everyone enjoys the right to participate in sport and physical activity. I look forward to the development of Sallins Park community sports centre. It will provide much needed sporting facilities for the growing population. The Department, the Minister and Minister of State will look back on this debate. I have no doubt, if he has not already, that Deputy Farrelly will follow up with the Department, the Minister and the Minister of State specifically on Sallins Park community sports centre in terms of expediting that project on behalf of his constituents.