Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country.

Due to the nature of the Programme it can take grantees a number of years to draw down grants. Details of all payments and allocations under the Programme are published on my Department's website . The available annual funding for the Programme is contained within the relevant estimates volumes.

The 2020 round of the SCEP closed for applications on Monday 1^stMarch, 2021. By the closing date, 3,106 applications were submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received. Given the record number of applications and the detailed information contained in each application, the assessment process will take a number of months to complete. It is envisaged that allocations for applications for sports equipment- only will be made first during the Summer with allocations to other capital projects announced before the end of the year. It is intended to allocate a minimum of €40m under this round of the Programme.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together.

The National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of a Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the fund is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount (€300,000) available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. The National Development Plan provided a capital allocation of at least €100m over the period to 2027 for the Fund.

The first allocations under the Fund were announced at the beginning of 2020 and approximately €86.4m has been awarded to 33 proposals to date. Details of these projects can be found at the following link:

These projects are at various stages of a due diligence process and formal grant agreements have now issued to a number of the successful applicants.

While it is not proposed to open the LSSIF for new applications at present, my Department is undertaking a review of the LSSIF which is expected to be complete in the near future. This review will consider, inter alia, progress on all existing grants and whether any additional grants should be awarded including to previously unsuccessful applicants. The timing of any new call for proposals will also be considered. Any new allocations or a new call for proposals, will be considered in the context of the review of the National Development Plan.