Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I do not agree the money collected from the dormant accounts of emigrants should be used for emigrant services. That is not the direction the Government is taking. We have agreed three categories for the disbursement of funds and these funds assist people in disadvantaged areas. We do not have data on the locations of accounts, for example, how many were in Ballymun, Ballyfermot or Ballybunion, or how many were held by people living abroad or in Ireland. We will not go down that road because if we did, the money would not be invested in disadvantaged areas, given that it is likely few of the accounts were held by people from these areas. Funding will be provided for the three categories agreed by Government.

Significant funding is being invested in emigrant services. I acknowledge the Deputy's comments on the task force recommendation but funding this year has increased by 45% and that is huge by any standard. Given that the funding is on such a curve, additional funding will be provided in the coming years. This year's budget is 12 times what it was seven or eight years ago. Significant funding is being allocated to emigrant groups. Funding could be spread thinly but the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is the sponsoring Department, is looking after such groups and it is not our intention to allocate money from the dormant accounts fund in this regard. Since that Department is providing funding, it is not our intention to provide money from dormant accounts, while accepting that money is needed in this area. Money is being provided by the sponsoring Department and whether it should have been provided years ago is another issue.

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