Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for circulating this report. I welcome that additional funding is being provided to the community sector, in particular services on the ground, given that is where it is desperately needed. For a large number of small community facilities and organisations, €1,000 is a lot of money and makes a significant difference.

From my experience in various groups, the funding that comes through local authorities gets to them quickly and easily. There is little form filling and so on. I question the use of Pobal, though. From the feedback I have received, applying to Pobal for small grants is sometimes too much hassle. Can we take the streamlined way funding is provided by the local authorities' local community development committees, LCDCs, and apply it to Pobal, particularly for small amounts? I understand that some large grants are required and we need to be diligent in how they are made, but we have an opportunity to examine how smaller grants can be disbursed to communities quickly.

To clarify, is a set percentage supplied by the Dormant Accounts Fund every year? If the fund is worth €10 million, for example, is 20% of that disbursed, put into the reserve fund and so on? I am not clear on this. I am looking at the documentation, but I cannot see from it how the decision is made.