I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, for coming in. It is rare enough to come in here for a Topical Issue and get the line Minister, so I do appreciate it. This is a long story. It goes back to 2020 initially. I think in January 2020 we were delighted when the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, unveiled plans for a massive development, or so we thought, of a centre of excellence in Glanmire in co-operation with the FAI. It was sold as a project which we were very excited about, to be honest, particularly due to its relationship with Cork City FC. We thought it would be a massive benefit to the community in Glanmire and the wider Munster and Cork regions. That allocation of €86.4 million was made in January 2020, of course, in good faith. I think that funding was spread across 33 projects, of which an initial €2 million was dedicated to Glanmire. We fast-forward then to 2023 when the FAI wrote to the Department stating it no longer intended to proceed with that project in Glanmire with regard to the LSSIF grant I am talking about. If we move on again to 2024, the FAI board agreed at that time that it would look at alternative proposals. My understanding is that is an internal matter for the FAI that it is still considering its next steps, and the Minister might be able to elicit more of what it is thinking in his own response. My understanding is that we are still waiting for updates from UCC and the FAI. My understanding is that very little has happened. It is very frustrating for us locally because we did genuinely feel that this would be a trademark and would really put Cork football on the map. It is an internal matter for the FAI but we are growing increasingly frustrated over the past number of years with the lack of progress on the site. The Minister of State might be aware that Riverstown Football Club has actually become the main sublessee of the site and that needs to be finalised with Cork County Council. We are in the latter stages of that. Ultimately, the council's proposal that it will go out to a public consultation and consider alternative proposals for the remainder of the site, one of which is a multisport community centre proposal is being prepared by members of the community. I was encouraged by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan's, comments in reply to me two weeks ago at a sports committee meeting on the departmental Estimates. At that time, he stressed for all existing grant programmes, be they sports capital funding or the LSSIF, the urgency of drawing down those existing funds that are committed. In the case of Glanmire, an initial €2 million was allocated in 2020. It is 2025 now and we are yet to see any drawdown of that funding. The reason I tabled this matter is that I do not have an issue with whatever proposal the FAI come up with, I just want to see the funding drawn down. We have been waiting the bulk of five years for that funding to be drawn down and, as I said, little or no progress has been made on the alternative the FAI promised a considerable time ago that it would come up with. Is the FAI dealing with this matter expeditiously with their partners? Does the Minister of State believe they can meet the local funding requirements in light of its recently published financial report?

Sentiment score: 0.19

I thank the Minister of State for the response. The one thing I can glean from this response, and that is encouraging, is that the Minister of State has stated the FAI told him at its next board meeting it will bring forward details on the project. That is welcome progress because this is something that the community of Glanmire and all the public representatives involved, including local authority members, have pushed for some time. This project dates back six or seven years since its inception. My fundamental frustration is around the drawdown of funds. This is not the only project across the country that has not been drawn down from the LSSIF or, indeed, from other sports capital grants. Is there going to come a tipping point? Aside from this specific project, is there going to come a point where the Department will say to awardees that they have five, six, seven years to draw funding down, whatever the project is around the country, and if they do not use it, they are going to lose it and it will be go back to the Exchequer to be reallocated to some other worthy project? All these projects are worthy. We are all looking to support the development of infrastructure and facilities. The Minister of State referenced the record funding the Government has invested in the recent budget. I hope in next year's budget we will see a similar allocation into the sports capital funding. Is there ever going to come a point where if an awardee cannot or is unable to draw down the funding they have been allocated, there will be a cut-off point? I welcome the response the FAI has given stating that at its next board meeting it will have an update, but I ask that in relation to that update, commitments are given on timelines and when this can be delivered.

Sentiment score: 0.27