Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Without naming names, are there local authorities that, because of their size, find it more difficult, shall we say, to apply for some of those calls or even to have any sort of in-house capacity to allow them to do that? What is The Wheel doing in that regard? Is there any assistance for those local authorities aside from their own resources?

Very briefly on state aid, it is absolutely nonsensical that that burden would be placed on those who are applying in the first place. What do they know about state aid? How are they supposed to navigate it? Is there anyway to try to clarify that? We obviously have the de minimisrule but that is not there now, although it used to be. Is there a need for something else? That is something that should be clarified at the appropriate level, not to add confusion to what is already not a very simple process.

I will just make a final comment about ARACHNE. I was interested to hear the witnesses say that we are not very centralised because most of the time we would think we are but on issues like that as to who is in charge of fraud or whatever, we are not. Maybe that is something this committee might make a suggestion on our look to if we thought it was useful.