Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the funding allocated to local authorities, I have made it very clear to them that funding for this year will be contingent on progress on projects funded in 2016. I agree with the Deputy that there is no point in central government providing the funding if it does not get out to the projects. We all know the projects nationwide and especially in our own constituencies that need to get the funding and we want to see the money spent. I can assure the Deputy that I am very conscious of the pressures but I will be keeping the pressure on the local authorities. The funding is in the baseline of my Department's Vote and that will allow for the larger-scale programmes, such as the €20 million, over a longer period which is the 15-month period. The payments are being staged, as I explained earlier. I welcome the Deputies' interest in this because they should get onto their local councillors and the chief executives of the local authorities and put pressure on them to get the money spent because we will not allocate 2017 money until they spend their 2016 money. That is it. Those that spend get more, and those that do not will be left behind. It is very simple. I have explained that payments in 2017 will be contingent on their reaching a certain level of expenditure. We are involving business interests and we are involving communities more in this more recent town and village announcement. We want them to consult with communities and communities are good at driving things forward. The pressure will be on the local authorities. One only has to look at the tidy towns scheme and what communities do there. They drive those on. They are out until midnight or 1 a.m., getting villages ready and there is such interest there. The pressure will continue on the local authorities and I will maintain the pressure within the Department to keep going and to make sure that this money is spent. It does not come easy. Deputy Ó Cuív knows from his time as Minister that getting extra allocation for one's Department takes a bit of work. Deputy Smyth, who is also from the Cavan-Monaghan constituency, is present and I can say that I am not in the habit of giving money back. I want to see it spent.

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for his input in the Moore Street forum. He played a big role in that, he suggested it and it has worked out very well. I thank those who were involved in it, the political representatives, the 1916 relatives, the street traders and other stakeholders and, like Deputy Ó Cuív, I want to thank the chairman, Mr. Gerry Kearney in particular. He worked on a voluntary basis and gave up a huge amount of his time. He was very committed and was able to facilitate all the stakeholders, got everyone working together and it is important that we continue this momentum. I said that I will set up the advisory group and am pleased to say I have appointed a new chair, Dr. Tom Collins. I intend to make appointments to that group within the next week. We want to get it up and running because there is a lot of work to do there and we want to see it moved on and Moore Street to be developed in a way that reflects the important events of the 1916 Rising and the street's role in that and to be able to accommodate one other and work together to find the right solution.

I think I have covered most of the questions.