Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 May 2026
25. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the current status of the two outstanding Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund applications submitted by Clare County Council in 2024 in respect of clubs (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33117/26]
View answerThe Large-Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, or LSSIF, was established to provide Exchequer support for larger sports facility projects, typically those requiring investments greater than the maximum available under the Community Sport Facilities Fund.
The 2024 round of LSSIF received an unprecedented demand for funding, amounting to €665 million from 96 applicants. As a result of this significant demand, a range of valid applications did not receive an LSSIF allocation at the initial allocation stage. Unfortunately, the Active Kilrush Sports Complex application did not receive an allocation at that time. With regard to the funding application by Kilkee-Aqua Club Centre of Excellence, my Department advised the applicants in July 2024 that a number of key items were missing from the application such as proof of match funding, proof of title and proof of a Similar Access Policy. As this information was not subsequently submitted, the application was not processed any further.
It should be noted that, should additional funding become available, eligible applications that did not receive funding under the 2024 round and whose proposed projects align with key strategic national priorities and strategies such as the National Swimming Strategy could be considered for funding support in advance of a future round of the LSSIF.
With regard to a future round of the LSSIF, my current focus is on ensuring project delivery under the first two rounds of the LSSIF, 2018 and 2024, and this process will inform any decisions regarding the timing of the next round of LSSIF funding.
