Dr. Martin Mansergh:

In 1998, I was involved in the 1798 bicentenary. There were many activities in many counties, although not all of them. We had a commemoration fund at the time that ran to hundreds of thousands. I was not involved in administering it because advisers do not administer as that is the job of civil servants. I was advising the civil servants who administered the fund. We found that a relatively small amount of money went a long way. Committees were happy to receive money for the particular activities they were planning and got £2,000, £5,000, £10,000 and so on, depending on what it was.

Members should not underestimate how far the money that is allocated can go. I do not dispute that more may be needed. A little seed money is of benefit. Organisers of local committees do not look to the Government to do everything for them.