Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the financial support provided to the various animals charities over the past five years; the way in which the growth in funding for this purpose compares to the overall growth in her Department's expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21412/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The position as regards my Department is that its statutory responsibility relates to the welfare and protection of farmed animals. My Department has, nonetheless, in recent years made ex gratia payments to a number of appropriate bodies involved in the actual delivery of animal care and welfare services throughout the country. The funding available to any individual organisation is dependent on resources available and the level of demand and is therefore intended only as a contribution to the overall costs of the organisations. The amounts paid under this heading were £487,500 for 2001; €650,741 for 2002; €500,000 for 2003; €850,000 for 2004 and €1,000,000 for 2005.

Until 2004, these ex gratia payments were made from residual funds available in my Department's Vote at the end of the year. However from 2004, specific provisions for this purpose have been included in the Department's Estimates. As these are ex gratia payments, it would not be appropriate to relate them to the growth in the Department's overall expenditure. Nevertheless, it will be seen that the totals paid in respect of 2004 and 2005 are significantly higher than for the earlier years.