Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a fund. We put up so much money and we get matching finance. It paid €100 million, effectively, to a number of venture funds. What happens is that they have to raise the matching finance. They put up the right funding from that fund over a period of years. Therefore, a fund is available, for which I will be able to give the amount, which, generally speaking, is about four times the amount we put in. It is a fairly significant fund but its draw-down is only reported annually at present. I think we should increase the frequency of reporting of that in order that we get a better handle on it. Once the fund is available it then depends on the project flow. It is privately managed. It is managed at arm's length from Enterprise Ireland and that is true of the other funds. Of course, Enterprise Ireland manages its own investment as well. The Minister of State, Deputy Perry, will deal with the LEOs' involvement in the regions because he has been intimately involved with that initiative.