Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It seems to me that some Departments saw the dormant accounts fund as a source of substitute Government funding for agencies such as the HSE, for example, as opposed to funding for voluntary groups on the ground, which was the original idea.

On subhead A4, did the Department think of putting some of this unspent money into the western investment fund? Since 2011, the Western Development Commission, WDC, has been living off the returns on investments it made in earlier times. Would the Department consider giving it a shot in the arm of €10 million, through the western investment fund, to enable it to really get out there and do something for development?