Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The first step is to see that the applications are eligible, that they have the title to the land, the matching funds, a bank account, tax clearance, etc. After that, only if they are eligible, it is scored based on a certain criteria. It is checked by a second official to ensure the first official did it correctly.

The scores do not necessarily determine the decision on funding. One might find that the highest scored project would take up all the funding and, therefore, it is up to the Minister to decide not to fund that and, for example, give funding to six other projects instead, or one might find that the scores result in all the funding going to the GAA and nothing for anyone else, at which point the Minister has discretion to spread the funding out more evenly.

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