Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

How can we avoid politicising the issue? The national lottery and the dormant accounts fund were supposed to be means by which funding would be provided to voluntary, community and local organisations and that was supposed to be done on a non-political basis and open to everybody, yet we all know that both processes have become highly politicised, down to the letter appearing a day beforehand in the pigeonholes of Government Deputies to give them advance notice to be out with the good news to the recipients. How do we avoid a situation where if there is a national awards scheme, Government Deputies do not get a letter 24 hours in advance telling them the Government has decided to nominate or propose to the President that they get one of these awards?

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