Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 17 December 2020

Public Accounts Committee

Caranua: Financial Statements 2019

11:30 am

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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As I said at the outset, I am aware of people who benefited. Obviously, there are problems with every system and there is 98% satisfaction among people who were questioned and that is as it should be. I am aware of cases where people have benefited from the funding from Caranua, particularly for housing and to improve housing. The accounts show €96 million or €97 million in expenditure over six years. In 2015, Caranua made €29 million in awards. There is a big spike. I am looking at the graph that was helpfully provided by the Comptroller and Auditor General on this. However, in 2016, the figure collapsed to €13 million. In 2017, it was €15 million; in 2018, it was €14 million; and in 2019, it was €12 million. I can understand the figures tapering off near the end. What was the average award in 2015?

Very high awards were given out that year, and rightly so, but did that money then start drying up and funds start running out? It was a €110 million fund. Did some of the survivors who submitted late applications or who only subsequently became aware of the process and that fund lose out in later years? What was the difference in the awards given in 2015 and subsequent years?