2026-01-20

139. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the next round of sports capital applications will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4116/26]

The sports capital grants are an extremely important funding stream for many of the communities I represent in north Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny. During the lifetime of the previous Government, two different funds were announced for clubs in my constituency. It is nearly two years since sports capital funding was last announced and allocated. Clubs are now spending that funding and looking towards the future. When will the next round of sports capital funding open?

I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising this and for his advocacy on behalf of clubs in his constituency. As he will know, 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. The community sport facilities fund provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. Its purpose is to develop high-quality, accessible, safe, well-designed and sustainable facilities in appropriate locations and to provide appropriate equipment to help maximise participation in sport and physical recreation. Over 19,000 projects have benefited from the fund to the tune of over €1.4 billion since it was first established in 1998. Over €250 million was allocated in the most recent round with over 3,000 clubs benefiting from that, representing the largest ever investment in sports facilities. Over 40 different sports benefited from the fund as well. The objective now in the plan - I know Deputy O’Meara’s key question is when the next one will be - is to be able to support those clubs that need support. We plan to have completed another round of the community sports facility fund by the end of this year, opening up in early summer with applications over the course of the summer and with the aim of having decisions made by the end of the year. I am also currently inviting sporting organisations to information and consultation evenings on the community sports facilities fund. We will be in Kilkenny. The Deputy tends to north-west Kilkenny very well, I know. I will be there on Thursday night. We will be seeing some clubs on Tuesday night in Wexford with the Deputy’s colleague, Deputy Malcolm Byrne. This is about helping to prepare clubs for the next round and also to gain their feedback on what is most important for them and where they are finding the pressures, so we can make sure that the next round is tailored to best support clubs at ground level in terms of the phenomenal work they do providing facilities in communities.

I thank the Minister of State. From my own experience of dealing with clubs during the last round, I trust that the bureaucratic nature of it is something that has been addressed ahead of the next round opening. I fully understand we are dealing with public moneys here and they have to be spent correctly, but we are also dealing with voluntary organisations that are doing incredible work, often in long-term development plans for their clubs. The level of paperwork and detail they have to go into sometimes can be a bit excessive. Examples that I would give come from the last round when clubs went to appeal. It was announced some time around March 2025 and appeals were decided by September. A lot of issues around appeals the last time had to do with the appendices to the grant applications being slightly wrong, just something being slightly inaccurate in them. The information provided by the club had already answered the question, but they had not filled in the exact piece of paperwork to answer the question. They might have sent in a title document or something without signing that piece of paper. It is very important that we not deal with that level of hurdle for voluntary clubs.

It is certainly my objective and that of the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, in terms of the next round to make sure that we have it as amenable to clubs as possible and as practical as possible for them to be able to apply. Last time around with the appeals, almost all of the clubs that applied were supported. They were given the opportunity through the appeals process to have any issues corrected. The objective here has to be to work to make sure that clubs get the support they need, not to exclude them from it. That will be the objective again. As we gather information and feedback from around the country in advance of the next round opening, we will be listening to what people are saying to make sure that it works. Obviously, it has to be a robust and effective application system. We want to make sure it is as practical as possible and also that clubs of all sizes do not feel intimidated by the process, and that they do apply. As I travel the country, I rarely come across a club anywhere that is not under pressure for space. That is a reflection of the success of the great work the volunteers and clubs are putting in. It also puts an onus on us to support them in developing those facilities to meet the demand they are creating.

I acknowledge the work of the officials in the Minister of State's Department. The officials I have dealt with in getting answers for clubs in north Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny in recent years have been fantastic, even for previous payments that we are trying to get out to clubs now. I am delighted to see the Minister of State coming to the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for a briefing. I also look forward to welcoming him to Tipperary - hopefully, north Tipperary - in the near future for a briefing with a lot of clubs that are in contact with me also.

I welcome the announcement that there will be a further round of the sports capital scheme later. I commend the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, on their commitment to the development of not just clubs, but the critical role they play within our communities. I would ask that, in the announcements, regard would be had to rapidly growing communities. As the Minister of State will appreciate, with rapidly growing communities, there is a demand for space. It is right that the Government’s top priority be the provision of housing, but we also need to provide sporting, cultural and community facilities. That is critical. I would also ask the Minister of State to consider what is often a problem for minority sports, that being, where they do not own their own lands or have access to long leases on land or premises. I would ask that, when the next round opens, there is some imaginative way to try to facilitate those minority sports.

We all know the importance of sports capital for sporting organisations across the State. We are talking about this opening at the end of summer 2026. I thought it would be quarter 1 but once we have a date, sports clubs can work around it. I agree with what has been said. There needs to be added effort in facilitating local authorities to provide municipal pitches and sporting settings in some cases, which can allow for a whole pile of other sports. On the large-scale sports infrastructure funding, what is the timeline for that? I think we were talking about it being opened every two years. I have spoken to the Minister of State before about Louth GAA and its belief that it is on the reserve list. I suppose it is a matter of the works that are being done at the minute, not very far from my own home, continuing. Drogheda United FC was also on a reserve list. I would like to think that Dundalk FC could be in at the time it would be open. Anyone who has been to Oriel Park knows it needs a lot of work done, as happy as we are to be back in the premiership.

I look forward to seeing Deputy O'Meara in Tipperary. He has been speaking to me about that already. In response to Deputy Byrne, the objective will be to ensure we are looking to see where the need is greatest. We are gathering that information at the moment to make sure that, when the round is announced, it is focusing on the areas of greatest need. Having said that, I think we would all accept that the great work that is happening in clubs is putting pressure on space and capacity at all levels. We need to work to support all sports and all clubs, particularly focusing on those where the pressures are particularly acute. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú on the large-scale infrastructure fund, we have funding under the national development plan to run another round over the course of this Government. We do not have a date yet for when that will be. The focus at the moment is on making sure in the two rounds we have run - the 2019 and 2024 rounds - that we work with those projects to make sure they are moving forward. We will monitor them to see if there is additional funding available within what has already been allocated to be ready to do more. The focus is very much on making them move on, and some of them need to get moving and get running with what they have been approved for.

They will be shovel-ready.

We are looking at another round then, certainly within the course of this Government, but it is to be decided.