Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I have addressed the Senator's point. As I stated in my reply and as he well knows, the process is slow. The reason for the slowness with the Waterford Crystal application could be rolled on to the other applications. The EGF application process is complicated and encompasses three arms of the budgetary authorities, namely, the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The successful Dell application took six months to complete from submission to final decision and it took almost nine months before there was an actual funds transfer. Regarding the application in respect of Waterford Crystal, I am informed by the Commission that it is due in part to the change of Commissioner, of which the Senator is well aware, and a change in procedure. Henceforth, its assessment of all EGF applications and a proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF in support of applications will form part of the same legislative procedure. To date, there have been two distinct procedures used. This change of approach within the Commission has taken some time to work through. There is no suggestion of a difficulty with the Waterford Crystal application. I hope that answers the Senator's question.