Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. We do our best through press releases and contacting various projects to make people aware of these schemes but sometimes people apply because they know a grant is available. What struck me as being important in this case was that the people involved, the business traders in Dublin, got the idea of having the slogans on the Christmas lights in Irish. They approached our Department looking for help and we pointed out that we have this fochoiste gnó. They did not do it for the grant; they did it because they believed it was something that should be done. The money we gave was modest compared to the total cost of the lights. All we paid for was the part of the lights that had the Irish on them; the total cost was €16,687. What was important was that the business people of Dublin, who invested hundreds of thousands of euro in these lights, thought it would be a good idea to use the Irish language to make Dublin different. That was the point they made. That indicates a positive shift in attitudes. That is the reason I felt this was so important. Money is available and I take on board what the Deputy said. We normally expect the chambers of commerce, business associations and the local authorities to match our funding. I will examine the possibility of getting a list of all the chambers of commerce and local authorities and writing to them indicating we are re-advertising the scheme. Nobody will be able to say they did not know about it. I would like more people to come forward with their projects but they must come up with the matching funding as well. It is a three-pronged approach.

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