Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The scheme was suspended due to budgetary constraints and that remains the position. Adequate provision has been made in the 2009 Estimates to meet all applications that were duly authorised and authenticated that reached the Department by budget day, should they be approved. I hope they all meet the criteria. I accept some people who had started to prepare their applications had gone quite a distance but, from some of the representations received by the Department, a number of the cases brought to my attention were by and large in the early stages. As Deputy Creed indicated, we all know of applications that were nearing completion and I would like to advance them as soon as possible.

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