Sports Funding

122. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the way in which population growth, existing facility provision and projected demand will be considered in the allocation of sports capital funding provided for under budget 2027, particularly in rapidly growing constituencies such as Kildare North. [74017/26]

I will start with my home town of Maynooth where I was born and bred. It is a proud sporting town but in recent days there have been extra celebrations for the Crom Abú because not only is Maynooth in the senior hurling final this coming Sunday against Naas for the third year in a row – hopefully we can get over the line – we are also in the senior football final for the first time in 110 years with a semifinal win over Naas. I am asking about further investment in facilities for towns like Maynooth.

I join in congratulating Maynooth on its great success and wish it well in the finals. I was delighted to be invited by the Deputy at the end of last year to visit Maynooth GAA club and open one of its newest facilities. I congratulate the club not only on its success on the field but also on its success in developing the club off the field. It is a wonderful example of an exceptional sports club and GAA club in its impact on the community and the great facilities it has developed. I know it has plans to continue with that. I look forward to working with the Deputy and with the club on the opportunities for the Government to support them further on that journey. As the Deputy will know, the community sport facilities fund opened in the last couple of weeks. It provides very strong opportunities to develop further the grounds and ancillary facilities Maynooth GAA club has. I encourage the club to look at the new round and work with the Deputy, and any assistance he can provide, to see how it can apply for that and continue its journey. I am sure the club will be allowed a week or two off to enjoy the next two or three weeks. I wish them well and look forward to working with the Deputy on any support we can provide.

I will be more conscientious with my time here. What I was trying to get to was towns such as Maynooth and those in the commuter belt in Dublin and Kildare that are under significant pressure for resources. The changing rooms were opened but what we see in a lot of clubs is that there are not enough pitches. Will any consideration be given in the allocation of grant funding to hot-spot areas of high population growth, particularly in the commuter belt where there are new estates popping up, where resources are not matching the increase in inflation? I appreciate there is a long process to go through here. I will work with the clubs in Kildare to ensure that we can maximise the funding and the grants available. Has there been any consideration by the Department or by the Minister of State to those areas that are obviously under pressure when it comes to resources, with the hundreds and thousands more people who are living there?

It is something we will take into consideration in the funding. There are two issues. There are areas which are under pressure in terms of growing population that do not necessarily have the facilities to match it. That is something that will be a consideration. There are also sports that might not have been traditionally successful or have not applied in significant numbers for grants. That is something we will also consider in how we allocate funds. The two particular funds which I would ask those in large growing urban areas to look at are the two regional tiers. One is for €500,000 where clubs come together to provide facilities. We have also introduced a new tier of up to €750,000 where local authorities or national sporting organisations can lead an application to develop multisport facilities particularly in large urban areas where land can be a challenge. There is a real opportunity in that. That is something we will try to target in the upcoming round.

I welcome that. I acknowledge that Kildare has done well in grants previously. We are extremely appreciative of all grant funding that is allocated to all of our sports clubs. However, I am very conscious, when we look at our towns and villages, that our villages in the commuter belt are now becoming towns because of the demand for more housing and we need to match that pace. We have marvellous grant funding available but we need to take a more balanced approach. This is not to discriminate against rural areas but there are marvellous clubhouse facilities in small little parishes around the country and literally no facilities in some towns and villages. We need to be more cognisant about the amount of funding that is invested into an area in relation to the population and ask, per capita, how much we are actually investing into this town or community. That is not to leave anybody behind but when we are seeing massive growth there needs to be that matched investment.

I am sure the Deputy would agree with this point. I have travelled much of the country over the past year and rarely have I gone to a club in either an urban or rural setting that is not under pressure for additional and improved facilities. That is a reflection of the wonderful work the volunteers are doing within those clubs in bringing more and more people in to participate, especially in relation to the great growth we have seen in closing the gender gap between girls and women playing sport with the same regularity as men. There had traditionally been that gender gap there. The Government wants to support all clubs coming forward. I would say two things. It is important that the applications come forward from large urban areas in the first instance. It is important that everyone in those areas comes to the Government with applications in this round. In relation to the two regional tiers, the Government is very cognisant of making the maximum use of limited land in an area through investment to make sure the population is catered for.