Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is quite correct. The great thing about this scheme is that any State agency or local authority working with community groups can make an application. There are a number of ways to get matching funding. Údarás, local authorities and other State agencies, including the Western Development Commission and LEADER companies, have come in. As Minister, the major complaint I have heard was touched on by Deputy Heydon. It relates to groups getting projects ready. They have often simply lacked the funding necessary to make a plan and the seed funding required to get schemes ready. That is why we created category 2. It provides the seed funding to allow groups to get their applications ready. They were not ready for the first phase, but they will be ready for the next. We are going through and evaluating the projects which have not been dealt with yet and determining which ones can be shovel-ready for next year. We hope to make the announcement in early February. I could have done one in January and the other in February, but I want to do them together. I want to do categories 1 and 2 because I want to get the scheme open again for next year. That is because the important thing about the scheme will be to continue it over the years ahead.

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