2026-03-03

140. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, LSSIF, is likely to open for applications. [16500/26]

180. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether a further opportunity to apply for large-scale sports infrastructure funding will be open to sporting organisations in 2026; if so, the level of funding that will be available; the criteria for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16268/26]

I will try to be shorter than the allotted time, if possible. I ask the Minister of State when the next LSSIF is likely to open for applications.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 180 together. I thank the Deputy. The LSSIF was established, as the Deputy knows, to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects and the cumulative investment since 2020 is €297 million across 68 projects. While the LSSIF is closed to applications at present, our focus is on ensuring that project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF is followed through on. This process will inform any decisions regarding the timing of a future round, but I am committed to ensuring sustained investment in sports facilities to meet our ambitious goals for sports participation nationwide. The LSSIF focuses on larger initiatives, particularly those related to high-performance sport, major spectator events and community-accessible facilities. The key aims of the LSSIF are to increase active participation in sport and the quality of that participation, to increase the quantum and quality of social participation in sport, to improve high performance in sport and to increase active participation. I am pleased to confirm that nine LSSIF projects, including the redevelopments of St. Conleth's Stadium in Kildare and Dexcom Stadium in Galway, are complete. I joined the Deputy at the Munster Rugby centre of excellence in Cork, which is a wonderful facility that was strongly supported under this round of funding. I know from talking to him that day that the Deputy has plans and objectives for this fund, going forward. From the Government point of view, there will be one more round. The national development plan commits to that round. It will be towards the latter part of this Government's term when that new round opens. As I said, the specific timing of that will depend on the progress made with the existing fund and applications. For the next couple of years, our focus will be on ensuring those projects move. Some of them have been much slower than they should have been and we want them to be delivered before we move towards opening a new round for new applications to come forward. That is, we expect, two to three years away.

I thank the Minister of State for his response in respect of the LSSIF. He has outlined the statistics, including the number of applications, the number of projects and so on. Receiving up to €500,000 in public money is significant for projects. As the Minister of State said, it has allowed a large number of projects to progress. We are at the implementation phase of the previous rounds. That is all positive. I do not have to tell the Minister of State the importance of sport. It is critical. It provides a positive outlet for many people of all ages. It not only helps physical health but also mental health. That is being recognised increasingly. Sport helps to build bridges and improves diversity among our communities, which is critical. It helps to build lifelong friendships and bonds. It is critical to the self-development of young people. I know all of us in the House agree with that. The LSSIF has, as the Minister of State said, a specific target. Very often, applications are made through local authorities, NGOs and so on. I will come back in shortly.

The LSSIF has been an important fund. The current national sports strategy, published in 2018, identified the need to establish a LSSIF at Government level. Outside the community sports facilities fund, there were many projects of scale that simply could not get the funding together to allow them to happen. That was a real gap in our national support network. We have had two rounds so far. The first was in 2019 and the second was in 2024. As I say, over 60 projects have been supported as a result and the Deputy has seen the fruits of that in his constituency with the Munster Rugby centre of excellence. I was glad, with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to open a couple of weeks ago the new stand at the Dexcom Stadium of Connacht Rugby in Galway. That is a reflection of the types of projects that are now being delivered and that would have struggled to be viable in the absence of the LSSIF. I know there are many other projects that are seeking funding. I know that Deputy McGrath has plans and objectives for where he would like that funding to go. Our objective for the next couple of years is to drive on the current projects and ensure they happen. As I said, under the national development plan, we have committed to opening a new round in the latter half of the term of this Government for new applications to come in and see that important work on projects of scale are supported at a Government level and are delivered.

As the Minister of State knows, many large projects are moving towards a multi-use and partnership model. In my hometown of Carrigaline, County Cork, there is one such project in the pipeline involving a number of different clubs. The local rugby, athletics and basketball clubs are involved, along with Owenabue Special Olympics Sports Club. There will also potentially be a swimming element. This type of partnership approach is critical. I will make one additional point. We are now about to zone a lot of additional land across the country for housing, as is necessary to meet housing need. However, we must also invest in communities. Over many years, we have seen examples where we built houses but did not provide the social infrastructure or the leisure or recreational facilities. We certainly cannot repeat those mistakes. The sports capital grants and the LSSIF are important in that respect. Carrigaline is a prime example. It is a town that has grown significantly in recent years but that growth has not been matched with infrastructure and investment. This presents us with a golden opportunity and I ask the Minister of State to ensure we take that opportunity and build communities as well as housing.

I could not agree more with the Deputy. Communities do not thrive if they do not have the sporting and community infrastructure. Increasingly, and more than ever, sport is central to having healthy communities. The project in Carrigaline is exactly the type of project we want to come forward across the country. I am certainly happy to meet those involved in relation to their plans the next time I am in Cork. I will also engage further with the Deputy in that regard. The Deputy made a point about planning. It is an issue on which we have been engaging with the Department of housing. Good planning does not just mean developing houses; it also means developing communities and sporting infrastructure. That is what we want to see as part of joined-up thinking about how we, as a Government, approach the issue.