Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

If funding were to be made available on a multi-annual basis, does the Minister agree we would get better value for money? For example, the Arts Council must plan one or more years in advance if it wishes to engage an opera singer. The same is probably true for the Sports Council if it wishes to engage a badminton coach, for instance. The lack of certainty as to future funding places organisations in a predicament in that they are unable to plan for significant current investments. The Sports Council receives no commitment for the funding available for a given three-year period but may be obliged to make decisions a year or two in advance of the availability of the money. If this system were changed, we would get better value for money.

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