Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
583. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media how frequently the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund is allocated; if there is a live applications process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15108/24]
View answerMy Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
The National Sports Policy published in 2018 provided for the establishment of the LSSIF. The aim of the fund is to provide support for larger sports facilities where the Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the SCEP. The first call for proposals under the LSSIF closed in 2019 with applications confined to local authorities and National Governing Bodies of Sport. The first LSSIF allocations were announced in January 2020 and thus far, approximately €124 million has been awarded to 33 different proposals.
A new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the coming weeks, with the dates, terms and conditions to be published on the Department’s website in the coming weeks. I would encourage all eligible projects to consider applying for this competitive application process when it opens.
