Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Before the Minister goes on and in case it is overlooked, he said the YMCA badly needed the use of the facility. It comes back again to carrying out an audit to see where the money could best be spent. If it badly needed the use of a facility, the YMCA, through the Minister's Department, should have been informed of the sports capital grant scheme. It should have been given assistance to make an application. That is where the system falls down. It is my belief, whether right or wrong, that a school such as Wesley College is given an in to apply for grants by being able to link up with the local club. Given the abundance of facilities Wesley College has, there was no justification for it qualifying. If the YMCA badly needed facilities, it should have been given them or it should certainly have been brought down the path in applying for them, encouraged and given the support it needed to apply for them. It comes back to my point about carrying out an audit.

The other question I asked was about the figure of 50.7%. I know that the Minister said 50% of schools qualified. Was it 50.7% of the overall funding available? If so, that is an absolute disgrace, given that the scheme was set up primarily to target disadvantaged areas.