Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I can tell the Deputy what will happen. He asked me a question and I would like him to afford me the opportunity to answer it because it is a loaded question. The Deputy is making an insinuation that either myself or the Minister, Deputy Ross, would not treat this matter with the utmost seriousness. I take that very seriously. We are taking this matter very seriously. That is why we spent so much time on it. That is why I opened the discussions with the Department as early as last June. We have also made it clear that the assessment manual we will employ will be very clear. It will be finished and ready before the final date for receipt of all of the applications. The scoring mechanism that will be attributed will be based on the criteria in the assessment manual. Some applications will be invalid and others will be valid. Depending on the score they get, the files will come to the Department and the Minister will make the assessment. It is a function for the Minister because it is the Minister who is ultimately responsible to the Dáil on this matter.

I believe most people across the political spectrum would believe that the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, did his utmost to try to rebalance the division of money on the basis of population.

The Deputy will recall that prior to his appointment, money was not distributed on the basis of population and funding was allocated in a lopsided fashion. The Deputy will probably find that his county did not do as well as it would have done on the basis of population. My county certainly did not do as well as it would have done on the basis of population. Following his appointment, the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, also built in a redress mechanism to allow counties which had performed poorly in respect of allocations prior to his appointment to recover some of the funding they would otherwise have received.

In some counties, the number of applications will exceed the money available. This obviously presents a challenge and means we will have to make decisions in the most clear and practicable manner possible. The money available will be small relative to demand, which will probably be in excess of €200 million. The Deputy asked a detailed question and I am providing a detailed answer, irrespective of whether he likes it. We want to ensure the process is as fair, open and transparent as possible. Since my appointment, this responsibility has been delegated to me.