Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

I am glad the Minister is so careful of all details. However, his response strikes me as fussy beyond what is reasonable. Nevertheless, we now have clarity as to the point raised in these questions.

Both Foinse and The Irish Times have reported that on the eve of the budget, an application was made by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for funding of €50,000, but that it subsequently received an allocation of €3 million. This has been denied by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which claims it applied for €4 million and received €3 million. Will the Minister clarify this for the House? Other than transport to the islands and the 62% increase for Coiste na Gaeilge, funding under every other subhead relating to the Irish language and the Gaeltacht has been reduced. The Minister has made a public statement in which he said that the precise funding for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in 2009, and the breakdown between current funding provided by his Department and capital funding provided by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, will be decided shortly when the Revised Estimate volume is completed.

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