Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I take it that the Deputy is referring to the emergency fund of €10 million. An emergency has to be an emergency in the first instance. A case was reported in the newspapers before Christmas of a school that was not properly heated because the principal did not have the money for repairs. The school in question had not applied for any kind of grant for the heating system. When I heard the story, I made inquiries myself. No application had been received from the school in relation to the heating problem.

An emergency is, literally, an emergency. It occurs when something goes wrong. In those circumstances I have no reason to believe €10 million is an inadequate sum. If an emergency arises and the fund has been exhausted, we will find the money in some way, but we are constrained.

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