David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not that money is lost but that it could not be spent in the time period in which it should have been spent. As Mr. Ó Foghlú stated, because of problems and delays in getting systems up and running, we had to reimburse the European Commission €19.8 million. This relates to financing for youth employment initiatives. The level of youth unemployment is still relatively high compared to European standards. That we had to reimburse the Commission because the Department did not have the systems required up and running and did not satisfy the appropriate requirements is akin to a dropping of the ball on its part.