Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As somebody who has been very much involved in community all his life, the Deputy is a long time here and he understands it. In some of our schemes, there has to be a local contribution. Particularly if we are dealing with the local authorities, we expect them to put some kind of a contribution into the scheme. In relation to communities themselves, we have a number of schemes that do not involve a local contribution. We give them some funding for the smaller schemes.

It is interesting that Deputy Durkan asked the question this morning because I could name six community groups from all over the country which are involved in major developments, some of which are costing over €1 million. There was one particular project for which the Department granted nearly €1 million. The project was to come in at €1.2 million and the community came back to me stating it is costing €1.6 million. I have that problem now in a number of places. That is where my Department plays a role and where elected representatives play a role. It is fine that these community groups provide great service. If we did not have them we would not have the service, but we need somebody, whether he or she is from my Department, from the local authorities or from other State agencies, to guide them through the process because if a group has €1.2 million and it finds itself €400,000 short, it creates a problem. I would like to see these projects grant aided and completed. I have a number of these problems now around the country and it is something that I and the Department need to look at.

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