Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The cut in current spending from 2014 to 2015 of €888,000 is a significant sum. Apart from the Department's grant year, it represents the single largest decrease in terms of current spending. What is the expected impact of the loss of €888,000 across the important programmes supported by the Department, which include the missing child hotline and a number of others which are very worthy and do important work? They fill a significant void and if they were not there we would be calling for them. Will the Minister indicate the rationale behind this decrease and the expected impact as a consequence, because it looks alarming to me?