2026-01-20

140. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the sports capital programme will be open again for applications; the other funding streams available for sports facilities, including those in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4101/26]

147. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to consider creating a school's stream within the sports capital grant, in which schools can individually apply for sports capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4117/26]

The programme for Government states that the Government will prioritise the development of physical education halls and sporting facilities, including yards and play areas, for schools in conjunction with the sports capital fund to deliver for both schools and communities. Will the Minister of State therefore consider creating a schools stream within the sports capital grant in which schools can individually - that is very important - apply for sports capital funding?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 147 together. I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising this issue. The programme for Government commits, as the Deputy knows, to continued 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 sports facilities fund, CSFF, provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. This programme has operated annually since 1998. One of the objectives of the community sports facilities fund is to assist voluntary and community organisations, sport national governing bodies, NGBs, local authorities, education and training boards and schools to develop high-quality, accessible, safe, well-designed and sustainable facilities in appropriate locations. Funding for sports facilities in schools is primarily a matter for the Department of Education and Youth. However, third level colleges, education and training boards and schools are eligible to apply to the community sports facilities fund jointly with sports clubs. Such applications must provide evidence of facility-sharing arrangements that will allow sports clubs to use the proposed facilities throughout the year when not in use by the school. There are no plans to change this approach given the existing demands on the community sports facilities fund. Sports clubs within schools and third level colleges are not entitled to apply for funding directly to the CSFF. A joint application with a school enables clubs in high-density areas to access high-quality facilities without needing to purchase and develop a new site and allows a club to provide facilities that are close to home for its members, reducing travel time, and help drive increased participation in sport. It is something we certainly want to encourage in the upcoming round. There are a lot of synergies that can be gained whereby schools can be using these facilities during the day and clubs can be using them in the evening. It can work really well for everyone, especially for everyone in the community. It is something we will be looking to encourage collaboration on.

I would like to raise the case of Youghalarra National School in Newtown in relation to its summer works programme funding which came from the Department of education. It was a very useful grant and was for the installation of a 608 sq. m ball court. However, to have the best usage of that court and to mitigate against injuries, the board of management wish to have an AstroTurf surface installed on this. This would be very achievable with the funds allocated, but unfortunately the guidelines from the Department of education only allow for tarmac and concrete surfaces to be considered. The reason I have asked this question is that this is a somewhat stand-alone school. For safety reasons, it needs the sports facilities within the school grounds. I am looking to see if we can get a stand-alone application for the school. Is it possible to engage with the Department of education? The Department of education is giving money to build the court but says its surface can only be tarmacadam or concrete or something along those lines when AstroTurf would work and would suit what the Minister of State's Department is trying to do. I think it is absolutely incredible and unbelievable that the school would not be able to do that.

There has been engagement between our two Departments and we will certainly continue to collaborate to see how best we can work together and ensure that, through good co-operation, we are serving local communities well. With the community sports facilities fund coming up now and to be completed by the end of this year, there is a real opportunity there for schools to assess the potential they have to develop their facilities, to work with local clubs in their area and to come forward with an application that can work for everyone. I will certainly continue to engage with the Minister for education, as will my Department, on how we can work well together in pursuit of that too.

The example I gave of Youghalarra National School is one that probably will not fit in to what the Minister of State is saying the next round of the sports capital fund will be, but if the Department of education is giving out grants to build something, surely when the Department of sport is trying to build facilities such as AstroTurf pitches, and we want to see AstroTurf pitches because they get so much usage and are so much safer and cleaner for schools in particular, that the Minister of State would be able to engage with the Minister for education to see if the summer works programme can be changed so that, although the funding is not coming from the Minister of State's Department, it is very much sport-related. My reason for raising this question was to try and fit it in for sports capital funding, but perhaps we could get common sense to prevail here and the Department of sport would advise that section within the Department of education, as the expertise exists within the Minister of State's Department.

I speak in strong support of Deputy O'Meara's question in this regard. I have regularly asked the Department of education what facilities are specifically going to be provided for sport, particularly for new builds, but also in terms of existing funding streams that can be made available to schools to get sports funding. I look at somewhere like Riverchapel National School in County Wexford. Incidentally, it is the primary school of the Minister of State's colleague and mine, the Minister, Deputy Lawless. It has over 300 pupils and it has a hard tarmac and flawed play area at the back. It is not a real sporting facility. The Minister of State needs to tell the Department of education that there has to be a more integrated approach to the provision of sport in education at primary and second levels.

I thank Deputies O'Meara and Byrne. They make eminent sense in relation to the potential at school level to serve the community as well as serving the school population during school times. I will be engaging with the Minister for education and her Department to see how we can better pursue that objective. I thank the Deputies for raising the matter on the floor of the Dáil today.