565. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if there is a delay in issuing sports capital grants applied for in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12753/24]

The latest round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme SCEP (2023) closed for applications on Friday 8 September, 2023. A preliminary examination of the submitted applications demonstrates that the Programme has again generated a very large number of applications. The total number of 3,210 applications exceeds the record number submitted under the last (2020) round.

The "Scoring System and Assessment Manual" for the 2023 round has been finalised and published along with a list of all applications received by county including the relevant sport type for each application received. These details can be accessed at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/1c0f6-scep-2023-applications-received/

The necessary assessment work has commenced and it is planned to assess the "equipment-only" applications first and announce these grants in the coming months. Work will then commence on assessing the capital applications with the allocations to be announced later.