8. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a detailed breakdown in terms of amount received, location, and names of the clubs in disadvantaged areas who received funding in the 2012 round of the sports capital programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57257/12]

12. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the next round of funding will be available under the sports capital programme; the amount to be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57263/12]

19. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide details of the clubs and organisations who do not own their own land and or do not have a long term lease who received funding in the first round of the sports capital programme 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57258/12]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 12 and 19 together.

I am glad to report that €10.2 million or almost 40% of the value of recent local sports capital allocations was allocated to projects located in designated disadvantaged areas.  I will supply the Deputy with a list of all of the allocations to projects in disadvantaged areas. There are no plans for another round of the sports capital programme at the moment but I hope that, if funding becomes available, it will be possible to do so in the future.  Decisions on the features of that programme and the amount to be allocated will be considered in the context of the prevailing budgetary framework.

I do not have a list of allocations to clubs and organisation that do not own or have a long lease on the property they use and the creation of such a list would involve a disproportionate amount of time.  However, I can confirm that clubs or organisations that did not own their land or did not have a long lease were able to apply for a modest capital grant of up to €25,000 to upgrade facilities this year.  This is the first time the programme has been extended to such groups.  In addition, applicants that were only seeking funding for sports equipment did not need to demonstrate evidence of title.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I hope he will push hard for a second round of sports capital grants because a figure cannot be put on the value of them in the context of people's physical and mental well-being, the fight against obesity and even job creation. Research shows employed people are 50% more likely to participate in sport than those who are unemployed and, with regard to social disadvantage, there is a clear link between educational attainment and participation in sport. For example, those with a third level education are 3.2 times more likely to participate in sport than those with primary education only according to research in 2009. Prisoners in Ireland are 25 times more likely to come from and return to a seriously deprived area. Given almost 450,000 people are out of work and thousands of others are underemployed, it is imperative that the issue of equity is placed centre stage when funding is allocated for sports projects. Moreover, there is a close link between sporting activity and good mental health and between obesity, poor diet and disadvantage. Will the Minister of State give an undertaking to embark on an information campaign regarding the sports capital programme targeted at clubs and organisations that work with disadvantaged people and in disadvantaged areas? A total of €4 million remains to be allocated for regional and national projects. Will he confirm whether any boxing clubs will benefit at regional or national level considering the fantastic performances of their boxers at the Olympic Games?

I hope we can negotiate with the Department of Finance regarding another round of funding under the programme and I ask for the support of all sides in the House in this regard. When I came home from the Olympics, I got into some difficulty when what I was said was misinterpreted. I simply made the point that money spent on sport means the State will save money. It is estimated that 250,000 people could develop diabetes over the next ten years. If we have a healthier and fitter society, we will not need as many doctors, nurses and hospitals.

With regard to boxing and disadvantaged areas, 40% of allocations went to disadvantaged areas. In Dublin, I had more money than I needed. Given that more than 50% of projects in Dublin were marked invalid, we had enough money to accommodate every club that submitted a valid application. That did not happen in every other county so that I was not able to target more disadvantaged areas. The figure of 40% is the highest since the scheme began. This is an achievement because the whole point of the scheme is to target areas of disadvantage. I think we have succeeded in that.

The Deputy is correct in what she says about boxing. Last year when I came into office, and before the Olympic Games, I identified boxing as doing great work. Boxing clubs take in people from all sections of society, train them and look after them, and put great discipline into them. Before the Olympic Games, I put €1.2 million in place. The Irish Amateur Boxing Association distributes that money on my behalf. Boxing clubs do not have as many volunteer members as football or rugby clubs. Those who are there are busy training and working with young boxers and do not have the time to make applications to the sports capital programmes, county councils or whatever. The Irish Amateur Boxing Association targets clubs all over the country.

The two best things I spent money on since I became Minister of State are swimming pools and boxing clubs. I introduced a scheme to make it cheaper for pools to be run, and it has worked very well for local authorities. Deputy McLellan asked a straight question and I will give her a straight answer. I am going to do something for boxing in the new year. I have secured the money for a scheme for boxing, particularly because it did so well in the Olympic Games and our boxers did the country proud. Earlier today, I attended an event where Katie Taylor was named Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year. She has been a great ambassador. All our Olympic boxers did the country proud in London. They lifted the morale of the country. That is why I am targeting boxing again this year. They deserve it.

I am delighted to hear that. I had the honour of watching Katie Taylor box on a couple of occasions. Her award is well deserved. She gave the country such a lift in the summer.