John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the fact the scheme has been transferred to the Department, I was slightly disappointed with the Minister's response where he said a review of the scheme would take place later in the year. I would have thought that review should be under way as we speak and I am not sure why there would be a delay in that taking place. I acknowledge there were expressions of interest last year and that the Minister has recently announced a dozen new projects. These were restricted to strand 3 specifically, however, and I understand projects that did not meet strand 3 criteria were declined funding, although they may be assessed in the future. Nonetheless, the demand is real and it is there today, both from individuals, as outlined by Deputy Ó Cuív, and from communities. In regard to strand 1, there are many community facilities that could avail of this programme, especially in areas of disadvantage. My concern is that it is like a drip feed. The scheme is turned on and off and there is no continuity in terms of access to the programme. While I know this is budget related and budget specific, I would like to see a more transparent and consistent scheme being designed.

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