162. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the up-to-date position regarding the upcoming Community Sports Facilities Fund; the status of the opening of the new OSCAR portal; the timelines for the 2026 CSFF round and any regional briefings or webinars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38088/26]

In line with previous rounds of the Fund, a review of the current funding round has been undertaken and will be finalised shortly. I have asked my Department to prepare for a further round of the CSFF in 2026 which I expect to open in the coming months. It is anticipated that the next CSFF round will particularly target areas and sports that have been under-invested in over the years.

My Department is currently collating feedback from sporting clubs and organisations and this provides valuable input to our ongoing preparations for the next round. This includes, inter alia, considering the impact of the increase in costs since the last round of grants were approved in 2024. New guidelines will be published in advance of the opening of the next round which will include grant amount thresholds, eligibility and likely assessment criteria.

My aim is to have as many eligible sporting bodies as possible applying, by simplifying the application process and guidelines, and by carrying out a wide-reaching communications campaign.

All clubs and organisations registered with the Department's will be automatically notified when the next round of the CSFF is opened. The CSFF is currently temporarily closed for registrations in order to facilitate migration to a new IT system. Organisations that are currently registered will automatically transfer to the new portal. The new system portal will be launched and open to new registrations in the coming weeks. Further details on this will be published and communicated broadly.