Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 385: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the reason for the delay in front-loading funding to community-based drug services that are facing financial difficulty due to funds from statutory agencies and funding channels being held up by his Department. [7812/10]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The Office of the Minister for Drugs (OMD) was established under the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016 to facilitate greater cohesion in policy-making and service delivery. All financial matters are now overseen by the OMD which includes the allocation of annual budgets to the Drugs Task Forces and associated payments.

The OMD formally approved funding to the Drugs Task Forces in regard to their 2010 allocations on 22nd December 2009. As part of the approval process, the relevant funding agencies were also advised. In this context, the Deputy should note that payments do not directly issue to projects from my Department. Rather, funding is channelled through various Departments and Agencies which reflect the focus of the project(s) in question and these agencies have ultimate responsibility for the release of my Department's funding to the projects on the ground.

The timing and value of payments issuing from my Department to the relevant funding agencies is, of course, inextricably linked to the timing and value of their respective claims to the Department. In this regard, I would like to assure the Deputy that every effort is made to process and expedite payments in the timeliest manner. Payment is predicated on all claims being made in the prescribed format and with all the requisite supporting information being provided.

Of the completed claims received up to last Friday, 12th February, I understand that, with the exception of one claim, all payments have issued. Claims are being received on an ongoing basis and are being processed accordingly.

The Deputy will, of course, appreciate that there are several factors that determine the release of funding, e.g. number and timing of payment runs and the subsequent transfer of funds through the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) system. While the EFT system represents significant benefits in terms of speed, there are set working days required to effect the transactions.

My Department is very aware of the significance of funding being with the projects as early as possible in the year to obviate any undue hardship. To support this, arrangements were made in December 2009 to provide salary advances for the first two weeks of January 2010 to those projects, identified by the Drugs Task Forces, that might have been under financial pressure.

Again, I reiterate that every effort is made by my Department to facilitate timely and prompt payments to drugs projects. However, as you appreciate, this is also contingent on the co-operation and engagement of the other stakeholders involved. In all cases, cognisance is taken of due process while also respecting all appropriate and requisite financial parameters.

Finally, the Deputy will wish to note that, as previously indicated, it is my intention during 2010, to review the funding procedures in place in relation to drugs initiatives to see whether any adjustments are necessary.