347 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the plans by a college (details supplied) for the development of sports facilities at their campus; if he will provide adequate funding to enable the project to be brought to fruition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42282/06]

The sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, allocates funding to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The programme is advertised on an annual basis.

Applications for funding under the 2007 programme were invited through advertisements in the Press on October 15th and 16th last. The closing date for receipt of applications was Friday November 24th last. All applications received before the deadline, including a joint application from the organisation in question and three local sports clubs, will be evaluated against the programme's assessment criteria, which are outlined in the guidelines, terms and conditions of the programme. I intend to announce the grant allocations for the programme as soon as possible after the assessment process has been completed.