Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the previous occasion, we did not write to unsuccessful applicants until some weeks after the funding round was announced. On this occasion, I hope a letter will issue to every unsuccessful applicant on the day the announcement is made. Every club will receive a letter, as they did on the previous occasion, setting out the reasons their application was invalid. This should make matters easier.

On the timeframe for the announcement, more than 2,000 applications for funding have been received and are being processed. The announcement will not be made before the local elections.

I cannot understand the reason that clubs and organisations which received a letter explaining the reasons their applications were invalid have submitted further invalid applications in this round. It does not make sense. My officials made the process easier by providing a template to be filled in by a solicitor in which registration could be taken against a property. We did our best to make it as easy as possible for clubs to make applications for funding. We do not want to penalise clubs and while we not be able to fund every club, I want all of them to have a fair crack of the whip. The law of the land is that invalid applications cannot be considered and that will remain the case.

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