I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for recognising the important role that the sports capital grant plays in helping sports clubs across the country to develop facilities and back the work done by so many volunteers across sporting clubs. As the Deputy outlined from his experience in his role with Prosperous United, massive work makes sport an important part of people's lives. That is something that we, as a Government, want to continue to support and develop in the time ahead. A key mechanism for doing that, as the Deputy said, is the CSFF, which is the primary means of providing Government support to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level across the country. The programme aims to foster an integrated and planned approach to the development of sports and physical recreation facilities and assists the purchase of non-personal sports equipment. Over €250 million was allocated to 3,048 community sports clubs and facilities in 2024 from the 2023 round of the CSFF, representing the largest ever investment in sports facilities in communities across Ireland. There are a comprehensive set of controls in place to ensure that grants are used in accordance with the objectives and rules of the fund, which I know is a key point raised by the Deputy in his Topical Issue. When making applications under each round of the CSFF, all organisations must agree to the terms and conditions of the programme and include a statement that all information provided as part of an application is truthful. All grants under the CSFF are initially allocated on a provisional basis and grantees must provide the documentation set out in the letter of provisional allocation prior to receiving formal approval. In all cases, the letter of provisional allocation informs grantees that submission of false or misleading information to the Department at any stage is treated very seriously. Any organisation that does not comply with the terms and conditions of the sports capital programme may be subject to inspection, have their grant withdrawn, be required to repay all or part of a grant or be barred from making applications for a period of time. All serious breaches of the terms and conditions of the programme will be notified to An Garda Síochána. Grantees must guarantee that the facilities funded will remain in sporting use for a minimum period of time. This is five years for equipment or capital grants of €25,000 or less and 15 years for any larger capital grants. Once grantees have formal approval, they may commence work and draw down the grant. The drawdown of grants involves the submission of documentation which is checked within the sports capital programmes division and must include invoices that detail the work carried out, proof of payment of these invoices by way of bank statements and a signed certificate of compliance with the terms and conditions of the programme. The Department has a detailed non-compliance policy which is used to examine any suspected instances of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the fund. On the rare occasion that a serious instance of non-compliance occurs, the grantee is required to repay the Department any grant money paid that was not used for an approved sporting purpose. As per the relevant departmental guidelines, a system to carry out annual spot checks of capital projects is in place. This is designed to help the Department ensure compliance with all relevant guidelines, including national and EU public procurement procedures and tax clearance requirements as laid down by the Revenue Commissioners. The inspections include a desk-based assessment of projects and site visits to ensure that the projects have been completed and are being used as per the terms and conditions of the CSFF programme. Each year officials from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General examine a sample of CSFF payments. This audit includes a checking of the record keeping and management of the documents supporting payments and an examination of the procedures and policies of the sports capital programme unit. Regular audits are also carried out by the internal audit division of the Department into all aspects of the operation of the programme. The Deputy raised a particular sports capital allocation, which was not part of the initial topic, in his contribution. I will respond to him directly on that topic following his raising it on the floor of the Dáil today.

Sentiment score: 0.30

The KDUL grant has been brought to the Department's attention. The grant was fully drawn down and the Department is not aware of any evidence to suggest it has been used for any purpose other than that intended, nor is there any evidence of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the programme in respect of the grant or on the part of the grantee. I will respond to the Deputy directly with more detail on the issue. I think we are all agreed on the massive importance of this sports capital funding. The funding last year was on an unprecedented scale, reaching over 3,000 clubs. In the management of that, the Department is committed to having appropriate checks and balances in place to make sure any grants awarded are spent as intended. I outlined in my initial reply the checks and balances in place with regard to that. The Department has also recently set up a capital inspection unit. As part of its work, the unit will develop a formal capital inspection process that covers departmental capital grants and departmental capital expenditure. The unit is working to design and implement a risk-based capital inspection programme to cover an appropriate percentage and volume of capital grants and expenditure, including both the community sport facilities fund and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. This inspection programme will be complementary to the post-completion check already carried out by the sports capital programmes unit. I am satisfied that the robustness of controls in place is adequate, and that those controls comply with the relevant Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform circulars and represent an appropriate balance between the need to have accountability in how public money is disbursed and the need to advance as many worthwhile sports projects as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.32