I congratulate Deputy O'Shea on a very strong election result. I wish him well in his term of office. I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 11 together. The programme for Government, in which the Deputy had a role in negotiations, commits to supporting the sporting ecosystem so that more people can participate in and reap the benefits of sport and fulfil their potential from grassroots right up to high performance level. We will achieve this through a number of measures, including maintaining sports funding to get more people participating in all levels of sport, particularly targeting cohorts in society where there are lower than average participation levels. This includes people with disabilities and older people. Sport adds so much to our lives as spectators, grassroots participants or those who excel in their field. Government investment means our participants have good facilities at their disposal and can train to compete to the best of their ability, whatever that is. Government investment in sports is visible in our clubs and facilities. It is also visible in the achievements of our athletes at the highest levels, as we saw with the successful summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Government is committed to continuing to increase its investment during our time in office. In terms of the funding in place, the community sport facilities fund, CSFF, is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment. CSFF grants provide new or improved facilities, helping people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in clubs, who benefit greatly from this. In September 2024, €230 million was invested in grants for sports clubs and facilities under phase 2 of the community sport facilities fund. More than a quarter of a billion euro was also allocated to community sports clubs and facilities in total in 2024, taking account of the earlier equipment-only allocations. There were 3,211 applications for the 2023 round, 365 of which were from organisations in the Deputy's county of Cork. In September, allocations were confirmed and the amount allocated to Cork organisations was just over €29.5 million. Given the scale of funding available and the time required to assess all local applications, the recommended allocation amounts for valid local applications were calculated using the Pobal index as the primary calculation factor. The scoring system for regional applications was designed to reward applications from disadvantaged areas, applications that showed evidence of sharing and those that had engaged with the planning process. All invalid applicants were offered a three-week period to appeal the Department's decision, the deadline for which was 29 October. For every appeal, the application was reviewed by an officer other than the original assessor. All appellants have now been informed of the outcome of their appeals. In line with previous rounds of the programme, a review of the current funding round will now be undertaken. That review will be used to inform the timing of the next round of the community sport facilities fund. I anticipate that the next round should be announced early in 2026, with the consideration of the applications to follow and an announcement of funding later in 2026. So far, the pattern has been that, every two years approximately, there is a new round of allocations to clubs. I expect a similar timeline again.

Sentiment score: 0.25

I thank Deputies Burke and O'Shea. I expect it to be spring 2026 when we open up for applications to be submitted and the expectation is that funding will be made available in the autumn period. That is certainly the timeline to which we are working. On Deputy Burke's point, we have just completed the appeals process and are now reviewing the operation and impact of it and how the whole process works. We want to make sure it is amended in any way necessary so that it works as effectively as possible for those applying and in terms of the impact and end return. We have seen phenomenal investment in sport and community facilities. Any funding we put into this gives an immense return to each community and is leveraged very strongly by every sporting organisation. It is fair to say that across the board over the past generation we have seen a transformation in the sporting facilities we have in this country. We have also seen a transformation in the administration and governance of sport across all sporting organisations and that journey continues as we try to improve and develop further. We are very open to listening to any suggestions the Deputies, other Members of the Oireachtas or, indeed, clubs or anyone within the sporting sector might have to ensure the process works as effectively as possible next time around.

Sentiment score: 0.31

That is certainly something I will take on board in terms of making sure support is available for those who might need it so that their applications meet the criteria and are put together correctly. That is obviously important in terms of ensuring a successful outcome for applicants. In the most recent round of funding, the Department provided opportunities for clubs that were not successful to engage closely with the appeals process to determine the reasons and see if they could be rectified. It is fair to say that only a very small number of clubs did not get a grant and it was very clearly because they were not meeting the criteria at the time or some of the key requirements were not in place. There would have been engagement and it is important this was the case, but if there is any way we can strengthen that, we certainly will. I thank Deputies O'Shea and Burke who are very strong advocates for sport in Cork and in their local communities and for the development of facilities there. As a Government, we are massively committed to following through and seeing the investment that was made last October manifesting in improved facilities and services on the ground and to building further on that. The other key issue as we go forward for the next round is making sure that, where there are gaps for certain sports in particular parts of the country, we try to plug those gaps so that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the sports they are passionate about in their local communities and that the facilities and services are in place. We must also look to see how we can further develop communal, municipal and community approaches to sports facilities which can be utilised by several sporting organisations so that we maximise and leverage the facilities that are in a locality. We need to make sure, for example, that we are working with the schools system as well so that we get the maximum impact from investments being made by local clubs, local volunteers and the State to get the maximum benefit for local communities.

Sentiment score: 0.55

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 49 together. I congratulate Deputy O'Hara on his election and thank him for the question. I know there is a similar question about Carrickmacross from Deputy Carthy. My Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, the community sports facilities fund, formerly known as the sports capital and equipment fund, and the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. Capital support for new swimming pools is now provided through the LSSIF. Projects for new swimming pools and the refurbishment of existing swimming pools are eligible to apply for grant funding under the LSSIF subject to the published guidelines and conditions of the scheme. While the scheme is aimed primarily at national governing bodies, NGBs, and local authorities, it is also open to other bodies, including third level institutions, philanthropic funders, clubs and voluntary organisations to apply but such applications would necessarily have to be made and prioritised by a local authority or an NGB. The total investment from the large scale sport infrastructure fund since 2020 amounts to €297 million, with 68 projects receiving funding allocations, including nine swimming pool projects. The second round of the LSSIF, which commenced in April 2024, received an unprecedented demand for funding, amounting to €665 million from 96 different applications. In November 2024, grants totalling €173 million were announced, benefiting 35 individual projects, so 35 of the 96 which applied were funded through that. It is noted that no application was received for Loughrea swimming pool, although I know there has been local discussion about it. A number of representations have come in from the local area and from Government representatives about the potential for a swimming pool there. I encourage any prospective applicants to review the scheme guidelines and key priorities included as part of the 2024 round of LSSIF as part of their preparatory process for a future LSSIF round. These documents are readily accessible on the Department's website. It is important to note that while those resources can serve as a helpful reference, any new guidelines and conditions associated with a future round of the programme may differ from the previous round. Ireland's first national swimming strategy was published in August last year and sets out a vision to provide everyone in our country with an opportunity to swim. Its publication follows commitments made under the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 and the Sports Action Plan 2021-2023. A key focus of the policy is on providing improved facilities. Swim Ireland, as the national governing body for swimming, is currently undertaking an analysis of the type and nature of swimming pool ownership in the country and will publish a report outlining this in the coming period. This report will be central to the future development of swimming pool facilities. Regarding a new round of the LSSIF, I am committed to ensuring sustained investment in sports facilities to meet our ambitious goals for sports participation nationwide. The programme for Government commits to maintaining sports funding to get more people participating in all levels of sport, particularly targeting cohorts in society where there are lower than average participation levels, including people with disabilities and older people.

Sentiment score: 0.18

It is important that there is engagement locally and that the Deputy works with the local authority in Galway about how this can be stepped out. I know there was a recent meeting about it. I have been speaking with Senators Curley and Rabbitte and Deputy Dolan about it. It is important to engage with the local authority in its capacity to work with the local community to develop the project, and with Swim Ireland too, and to see the capacity of the local authority to help to step it out. A trend I have seen is that Opposition parties often put questions about the capacity of local authorities to do new initiatives, while at the same time, Opposition politicians take steps in local authorities not to take steps on local authority rates and the property tax, for example, which would give them the capacity to bring forward projects in the local area. That needs to be considered locally to give the capacity to bring projects forward. The Government will look to step out further funding to see swimming pools and other sports facilities developed under the LSSIF.

Sentiment score: 0.26

No application was received from Loughrea as part of the LSSIF funding round. It is important, in advance of the next round of LSSIF, the date of which we have not decided yet, that there is engagement at local level about how that project can step forward, working with Galway County Council. It is not currently open. What we are doing is compiling a reserve list for all of those applications that did not get funding under the most recent LSSIF. As I said, there was €665 million worth of applications and only €173 million of those could be funded, so it was more than three times oversubscribed. A reserve list is being compiled for those and, unlike the position with the sports capital grants, there is a reserve list for the large-scale projects. It is important that at local level, working with Galway County Council and Swim Ireland where appropriate, the preparatory steps are put in place to ensure that, when the LSSIF reopens, it allows for applications to be made. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, there is no timeline for a new round yet but a reserve list will be compiled of some of those that were not successful in the most recent round.

Sentiment score: 0.07