Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

My Department, supported by Pobal, co-ordinates the implementation of the RAPID programme. As part of its co-ordinating role, my Department receives regular updates on the implementation of the programme. These updates range from informal ad hoc updates to reports prepared for the quarterly RAPID national monitoring committee which I chair. These reports can be accessed at www.pobal.ie.

The Committee of Public Accounts found that a recurring difficulty with the RAPID programme since its launch in 2001 is the different levels of expectation as to what the programme should produce. It recommended that the objectives, targeted results and funding priority for the RAPID programme should be more precisely documented. I will take the views and recommendations of the committee into account in the ongoing development of the RAPID programme.

As is clear from paragraph 4.4 of the report, my Department is well aware of the concern expressed by the Committee of Public Accounts and, as already indicated to the House following discussions with my Department, Pobal has initiated a formal evaluation of the programme. As I have indicated previously, the new, refocused RAPID programme provides a long-term model to support disadvantaged communities and should continue into the future.

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