The programme for Government states the Government will support sporting organisations in their efforts to increase sporting participation. In its recently announced and welcome strategy on obesity for 2016 to 2025, the Government pledged to develop a new national sporting framework structure and policy. That was reiterated in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport document. How does that rhetoric and policy documentation match with the Government decision to cut funding for the sports capital grants by 17% next year? Given the supposed recovery, will the Taoiseach explain the logic of that cut to this House?

There is no lack of commitment in terms of addressing sporting facilities or Healthy Ireland, with a Minster of State appointed to deal directly with that. The reason for the allocation for 2017 is based on what can be spent. We have had a situation where over the past 20 years the Government made allocations every couple of years for sports capital grants, many of which were not drawn down for three or four years after the announcements were made. What the Government is doing here is providing a multi-annual budget envelope where it can make allocations that can and will be drawn down. In other words, the money will be spent and not be lying there for three or four years while applications are objected to or whatever.