Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2025
532. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the way in which his Department will ensure that capital investment, including funding through the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund, is distributed equitably across rural and urban counties; the timeframe for the next tranche of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63441/25]
View answerMy Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
Over a quarter of a billion euro 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.
In line with previous rounds of the programme, a review of the current funding round is being undertaken. I have asked my Department to prepare for a further round of the CSFF in 2026.
In 2024, the second round of LSSIF received an unprecedented demand for funding. On 4 November 2024, grants totalling €173 million were awarded to 35 projects. As a result of the significant demand, a range of valid applications did not receive an LSSIF allocation at the initial allocation stage.
All valid applications were assessed in accordance with the scoring matrix, which was published online when the scheme was launched and remains available online for viewing on the gov.ie website. Following the initial scoring process, consideration was also given to the various sporting types receiving funding and the regional spread of such funding over the two rounds of LSSIF as well as alignment with policies such as the National Sports Policy 2018-2027, the National Development Plan 2021-2023 and the Climate Action Plan 2024.
My current focus is on ensuring project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF and this process will inform any decisions regarding the timing of a future round. No decisions have yet been made regarding the next round of LSSIF.
