Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I believe the figure was €7.8 million and is now €6.5 million, indicating a shortfall of €1.3 million. That fund was not very big in the beginning. I still believe we can have a very good programme this year. The leverage fund only covers the small projects as the big projects are covered by the Departments from their own funding. It is not within the scope of the RAPID leverage fund to provide schools and major health facilities, etc.

I have said that, in everything I have done in the Department, I have tried to keep the front line money in place, particularly on the current side. I have cut all the administration funds, thus affecting bodies such as Pobal and Údarás na Gaeltachta. They are all complaining but I have still done it. In fairness, some of the agencies have been very helpful and understanding in respect of why it had to be done. The leverage fund, small as it is, involves the communities having a veto over money that the local authority, for example, would have to match. Normally, if the local authority grants money, it totally determines what happens, but now the communities have a say.

We allocate some money from the dormant accounts fund for discretionary spending. It amounts to approximately €100,000 for RAPID areas. This still remains a top priority for me, although the dormant accounts fund is beginning to become depleted after five years.

Today we invited a good selection of the sports organisations to the conference at Croke Park, including the FAI, IRFU, the camogie representatives, the GAA, and Swim Ireland. Many of these bodies have considerable resources and we were telling them to match the resources the area implementation teams receive through the dormant accounts fund and to increase activity in sport in the RAPID areas. For every euro we give, I hope we would get €2 or €3 from the sports organisations.

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