Sports organisations in Kerry, among them several rowing clubs, received almost €3 million in grant aid under the 2004 Sports Capital Programme announced earlier this month.
The bulk of the money went to GAA clubs and to Kerry South, the constituency of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue. A small number of clubs in the constituency of Kerry North got around €1 million.
The county was also among the highest beneficiaries under the sports capital programme in 2003. Last year the grants were announced in July.
Among the recipients this year are several organisations in the Minister's own local electoral ward, Killorglin, in which his brother, the sitting councillor, Mr Paul O'Donoghue, and two other Fianna Fáil candidates are standing for election.
In that ward, the Sneem Rowing Club received €80,000, the Cahersiveen Rowing Club €100,00 and the Over The Water Rowing Club near the Minister's home town of Cahersiveen received €30,000, with Valentia Regatta committee also receiving some €7,000.
Laune Rangers GAA club in Killorglin got €200,000 and the Kenmare Shamrocks GAA club got a similar amount, and the South Kerry Sports Centre got €250,000.
Several grants were awarded to GAA clubs across the constituency and there were substantial grants too to social, community and health clubs in Valentia, Cahersiveen and Killorglin. Rowing clubs in Killarney also received monies.
It emerged yesterday that the 106- member Killorglin Rowing Club, currently under construction, was pushed up the list of points needed to allow it to qualify for its first tranche of sports grants in late March 2002.
Some €550,000 grant aid for the club was announced in a 16-month period - €300,000 in March 2002 under sports minister Dr Jim McDaid and €250,000 in July 2003 under the new Minister, Mr O'Donoghue.
The Department of the Marine yesterday said the rowing club, on the banks of the River Laune, did not have and did not need a foreshore licence as it had not proceeded with the pontoon element of the plans. The club and the slipway were above the high water mark.
Planning permission for the boathouse was first applied for in 1998 and was granted to the club in May 2001 after difficulties with site boundaries and ownership of the site were resolved. However, a third party appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála.
The appeals board granted permission in January 2002, with seven conditions. These included moving the clubhouse and re-designing the slipway and pontoon some metres to the north in the interests of reducing the impact of the development on the proposed area.
Yesterday, Mr O'Donoghue said it was important to remember that he was "a TD for south Kerry and it is my function and my duty to represent the interests of the people of south Kerry".
Rarely in his time in politics had he come across a project as good as the Killorglin Rowing Club boathouse and facilities, he said. He made representations to Dr McDaid in January and in March 2002.
"It was not communicated to me what number of points Killorglin Rowing Club had. All I knew was that this was a wonderful project which was deserving of grant aid."
It was not correct to state, as Ms Kathleen Lynch TD had done, that the project was not eligible, he said. The project was "entirely eligible", Mr O'Donoghue said.
Ms Lynch has called for an independent body to monitor grant aid to projects in the future.