Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The system has been very successful in that the beneficiaries on the ground feel the approach is a much more satisfactory way to disburse funds than either of the traditional methods.

We have examined these issues in my Department. In respect of the once-off grants we give out, we receive 30 times as many applications as we can fund. A great deal of frustration builds up in these circumstances and there are better ways to proceed. Without access to the systems of Government, it is not possible to operate this approach. Basically we are trying to bring into the frame all those public servants who have an incredible corpus of knowledge and expertise but who currently are sidelined in this procedure.