Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

There is a very simple explanation. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann has a rolling programme and it was divided between two Departments. Perhaps this is not the best arrangement but that is the way it has been done since the regional programme began. My Department catered for current spending and the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism catered for capital spending. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann applied for this programme to be completed and the money was allocated to my Vote. It is a simple matter of transferring it into the correct Vote. It is untidy but I assure the Deputy that I keep a careful eye on minor details of Votes and how money is spent. It came into my Vote in the short term and it will now be transferred out. It was one of those things that happens. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann raised a legitimate question that it was in the middle of a capital programme and one cannot drop building projects halfway through. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann asked that it be given one final allocation to build regional buildings and this was acceded to at the last minute. It went into the wrong Vote to put it simply. There is some extra current spending included but it only amounts to €200,000. This does away with many other arguments, such as that money was given to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at the expense of Údarás na Gaeltachta. That was nonsense.

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