Mr. Noel Waters:

The issue is whether Ireland was in a position to take up available funding. It is a very complex issue. Communities and NGOs applying for funding have a huge burden placed on them in terms of the requirements to qualify for funding. For example, one must ensure people who are working on these projects produce appropriate timesheets within a margin of error of 2%. During the course of an audit by the central authority on behalf of the European Union it transpired that they had not complied; therefore, we took it back.