Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 343: To ask the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if dormant accounts funding is available for Mullingar RAPID; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17416/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Under Government Accounting procedures, disbursements on dormant accounts measures are paid in the first instance "up front" from my Department's Vote in the same way as with any other spending programme. The Dormant Accounts budget for my Department for 2011 is fully committed to existing projects, and my priority must be to ensure that legal contractual commitments are met.

The position with dormant accounts expenditure compared with other funding programmes is that once spending takes place, it is reimbursed to the Exchequer from the Dormant Accounts Fund in accordance with the Dormant Accounts Acts, in the form of Appropriations-in-Aid payable through the Department's Vote. In this way, the costs associated with dormant accounts measures are Exchequer "neutral". Monies disbursed from the Fund increase Government debt levels as the money belongs to the account holder, who can reclaim it at any time, and not to the State. Consequently, every euro spent from the Fund is regarded in accounting terms as a potential Government liability.

Six capital projects have been prioritised by Pobal under the RAPID Additionality Measure for Mullingar. The matter of progressing the RAPID Additionality measure to contract stage will be kept under active review in the light of availability of funding / levels of expenditure across the Department's Vote during 2011 and, if necessary, into 2012. In the event that a portion of the funding becomes available this year, it is proposed that it be made available to projects in an equitable way on the basis of priority, subject to recommendations from Pobal under agreed criteria.