January 23rd, 2018

QUESTION　


　
* To ask the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport if there is an appeal process available to clubs which made applications for 2017 capital sports grants that were unsuccessful; and if he will make a statement on the matter.　

- Darragh O'Brien T.D.　


For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 16 January, 2018.　
　
REPLY　

　
When the 2017 Sports Capital Programme (SCP) was advertised, my Department issued a guide to filling out the application form which set out the minimum requirements that applicants had to meet to be considered for funding.　
Applications were deemed invalid primarily for one or more of the following reasons:-　
Title/Access requirements of the SCP not satisfied　
Insufficient quotations/estimates submitted　
Evidence of own funding not provided in prescribed format　
All applicants have been informed of the outcome of the assessment of their application, including details of why applications were deemed invalid.  Applicants were also offered the opportunity to appeal the Department's decision if they believe that an error was made in deeming their application invalid. The closing date for appeals for local applications was the 20th December and all appeals received are currently being assessed. The closing date for appeals for regional applications is the 19th January.   　
Separately, my Department is undertaking a general review of all invalid applications including those where incorrect or incomplete documentation was submitted. Decisions in relation to how to address any successful appeals and improvements to further reduce the level of invalid applications under future rounds of the SCP will be taken once these reviews are complete.