Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

There is a reserve.

I refer to this Bill as it now stands, bearing in mind that it has been changed, and I do not want to indulge in any criticism apart from clarifying a few matters raised by Deputy Mulcahy.

I have been speaking about the general disbursement of funds and the Minister of State has been very open in this regard. If I had one criticism about how the fund was distributed, it would be that it was very restrictive. It was targeted at CLÁR and RAPID areas in particular. There was a clause under which there was provision for education outside those areas. There are deprived areas in all areas of the country and there could be a very deprived estate or community in an area that is not in a RAPID or CLÁR area.

When the CLÁR areas were being established, I made a very strong point to the Minister that he should not use as a guide the data on population decline since 1920 — I believe that was the deadline — but those on population decline in the past 20 or 30 years. The places most affected by population decline in the past 20 or 30 years are being hit hardest. Certain areas not attached to an existing CLÁR area were excluded because they were islands. They meet all the criteria, including population decline and low family income. I hope that under the new set of guidelines and conditions the Minister of State will have more flexibility to consider areas outside those that are targeted. They could then get their fair share of the funds.

Someone made the point that the funds should go back into the communities from whence they came. Communities in Dublin would do very well by virtue of the population size. I read in a newspaper someone making the case that money from a local bank should go to the community where it originated. The Minister of State might refer to that in his reply. I can see he is shaking his head because he does not agree with this.

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