Sport and Recreational Development

133. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the mechanisms available for a community group and sports clubs to apply for funding for a sports pavilion where the funding level required is greatly in excess of the €250,000 for local groups in the community sport facilities fund. [73901/26]

What mechanisms will be available for community groups and sports clubs to apply funding for a sports pavilion where the funding level required is greatly in excess of €250,000 for local groups in the community sports facilities fund? I am raising this in respect of situations where there is a number of sports organisations working together to build a facility and especially where there is a lot of new housing development and a reasonably sized facility needs to be developed.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I would point any clubs in his constituency that are working with the Deputy to the information guide we published in the past couple of weeks on the Department's website. It sets out the criteria for the different grant thresholds available to sports clubs and organisations. As the Deputy knows, we have the standard one, which is up to €250,000, and can be funded up to a maximum of 95% of the overall expenditure. To apply for more under the community sport facilities fund, which is what the Deputy is asking about, an applicant must apply through the regional funding tiers, which are generally designed for larger collaborative projects, rather than standard, single-club local developments. Regional tier 1 funding ranges from €250,000 to €550,000 and is open to larger projects shared by two or more clubs, or projects led by a national governing body of sport or by a local authority. The tier provides for funding at a maximum rate of 70% of the overall project cost. In other words, such projects will have an own-funding requirement of 30%. A new pilot regional tier 2 element for larger projects has also been introduced in the this round of the CSFF. This provides for funding of between €550,000 and €750,000. This stream of funding is only open to local authorities and national governing bodies for multi-sport or specialised collaborative regional setups. The maximum funding rate for this initiative is also set at 70%. Those two regional tiers are the ones that any clubs looking to collaborate with others or work under the auspices of a local authority or national governing body would need to look to. I encourage them to look at the detail in the application guide to progress their applications.

I am asking in the context particularly of new developments. It is about getting the sports groups working with the local authorities and the Department making sure that adequate funding is put in place. It should not be a case of people being told to come back in five years' time for the matter to be considered.

Now is the time, when the housing is being built, that we need to deliver the facilities.

Tier 1 provides for up to €550,000. It is possible for clubs to come together to collaborate to provide facilities which meet more than the needs of each individual club and meet more of a regional need. For example, it is possible to develop large AstroTurf facilities, which more than one club would be able to avail of. The new tier 2 provides up to €750,000 and those applications have to be led by a local authority or a national sporting body. That is for multiple sports to come together to develop facilities. There is real potential, particularly in large urban areas with growing needs, to meet the need for new facilities through both of those tiers.

Regarding the Cork area, in the last round of grants there were only two major projects for all of Cork county and city. One was for €2 million, where athletic clubs got together with the county council. The other one was a €1 million project for a really good soccer facility.

That was only €3 million for a huge population. It is a pity that there was not more co-operation and co-ordination between the local authorities and sports clubs.

There is an opportunity now in this round, particularly with the introduction for the first time of the €750,000 maximum tier. It will encourage local authorities and sporting bodies to work together to develop multi-sport facilities. We have listened over the past year and engaged with clubs as to what their needs are, particularly the need for large-scale AstroTurf and all-weather surfaces in local communities. I encourage clubs to look at the opportunities available. It will be my objective to work with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to make sure we have as significant a funding round as possible this time.