Mr. Michael Keatinge:

No, the Structural Funds did. That is the point I am making. We have chosen to give a small amount directly to the FLAGs initially. Once we hand that money over, the FLAGs decide where it goes. There is a sense of building this slowly but carefully so that we get a good outcome. That does not mean the rest of the Structural Funds were not available - of course they were. They continue to be administered through the State and through Bord Iascaigh Mhara. That is our job. We are the development agency.

We want to move forward by creating a new partnership with the FLAGs. We do not want to simply say "Why not just take the quarter of a billion and hand it all to local communities and, sure, we can close BIM down." I do not think that is the way forward. The way forward is to develop on one scale at a national level, to ensure balanced, proper development, while also developing at a local level through the FLAGs. We are getting that balance right in Ireland.

The point in my presentation was to consider other countries that have a chosen a different route. What happens in an area in England or France that is outside the FLAGs - for example, on the south coast of England? There is no FLAG and the UK does not have an equivalent of BIM. Of course, they have structural aid, but it is a case of getting the balance right.

In terms of the €3 million, if the Deputy takes that as an indicative figure of what a FLAG should get over the course of the coming programming period, that would add up to €21 million. We have allocated €12 million in direct funds.

This is a proposal; it is a public consultation. Some €6 million is specifically allocated to inshore fisheries management, which is the work of the regional inshore forums, or RIFs, so the FLAGs will avail of those funds as well. They are there to be used by the inshore fisheries forums, as we discussed. That is a sum of €18 million.

Looking at what is going on in processing, training and fisheries generally, the FLAGs can still operate within those funds. I actually think we will not be far off the €3 million for FLAGs. When one adds all of that together and asks what FLAGs do in the seven years, we should not be far off the €3 million mark.