Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his fairly comprehensive reply. I am almost shocked that almost €400 million has already been transferred from these accounts to the Exchequer and that €108 million has been reimbursed. This constitutes a huge sum of money.

The funds are paid out under various headings to several areas of social deprivation. Does it all go through the Minister's office, or is it allocated to different Departments in which the decisions are then made? For example, if one wishes to apply to this scheme to develop something like a health centre in a particular locality, to whom does one apply? Does the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Minister for Health and Children or the Minister for Finance have ultimate responsibility? Is a single Minister responsible for distributing the entire amount?

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