Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Finance the breakdown of the national lottery funding for each of the past five years that is the total allocated to sport, youth activity, the arts, Irish language, health and community activities; if the amounts allocated are the percentage of funding agreed when the fund was first put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5947/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Under section 5 of the National Lottery Act 1986, the surplus from the national lottery may be used for sport and other recreation; national culture, including the Irish language; arts, within the meaning of the Arts Act 1951; health of the community; and for such other purposes as the Government may determine. The following additional categories have been so determined: youth, welfare, national heritage and amenities.

Under the legislation, the allocation of funding among the categories is a matter for the Government. There is no specific formula for the allocation of funding among categories. The Government decides on an annual basis how the surplus from the national lottery is to be allocated in the context of the overall Estimates process.

I refer the Deputy to Appendix I of the "Revised Estimates for Public Services" for the years 2001 to 2005, for details of the national lottery allocations by Vote and subhead in each of the past five years. These subheads broadly correspond to the groupings to which the Deputy refers in his question.