Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 247: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he is satisfied that all funding awarded by his Department in each of the past five years to date in 2010 has been drawn down and spent in accordance with the heading or sub-head under which it was awarded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19334/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 248: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent of funding accruing to his Department in each of the past five years to date in 2010; the schemes on which such funding was spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19335/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the quantified direct benefit accruing to the community through the various schemes operated by his Department in the past two years to date in 2010; the extent to which it is intended to extend or expand the most effective elements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19336/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 252: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent of new schemes contemplated by his Department in 2010 to address issues arising from the current economic climate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19339/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 253: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number, category and nature of applications for various forms of grant aid through schemes operated by his Department in each of the past four years to date in 2010; the extent to which all such payments and related activities have been drawn down, are pending or inconclusive in any way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19340/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 254: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the precise extent and nature of expenditure by his Department under each heading directly or through bodies under his aegis in each of the past three years to date in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19341/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 255: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of programmes and schemes currently operated by his Department; the extent to which such schemes are curtailed in comparison to previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19342/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 247 to 249, inclusive, and 252 to 255, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will be aware from a number of previous replies, my Department operates a wide range of grant programmes and schemes and details of these are available on my Department's website at www.pobail.ie. The Deputy will also be aware that information in relation to funding/expenditure by my Department in each of the past five years is available in the published Annual Estimates Volumes and Appropriation Accounts. In addition, details of payments made from subheads part-funded from the National Lottery are listed on my Department's website. My Department's expenditure is subjected to yearly audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office and, accordingly, I am satisfied that all expenditure is appropriate to the relevant subhead.

Against this background, the Deputy will appreciate that funding is provided each year to a very large number of individuals, groups, bodies and agencies. I do not consider that the allocation of staff resources that would be required to fully list and detail all of these allocations, as requested, could be justified, particularly in the context where a significant amount of the relevant information is already available on my Department's website or in the annual Appropriation Accounts that are laid before the Oireachtas. If the Deputy has a particular query regarding specific groups, bodies or agencies, I will, of course, be happy to provide the relevant information to the extent feasible.

With regard to 2010 allocations by comparison to 2009, the Government decided in the 2010 Budget, as part of its strategy to manage its way through the current severe economic crisis and to return the country to prosperity, to implement a series of reductions in spending on public services. Therefore, it is not possible to consider any new schemes at present. To the greatest extent possible, savings have been sought through efficiencies rather than through reductions in services. The individual breakdown of these reductions for my Department at a subhead level is provided in the Revised Estimates Volume for 2010.

Finally, in terms of evaluating the quantified direct benefit, or impact, of the different programmes, the Deputy should note that value for money reviews are underway or planned for a number of my Department's schemes, including the Rural Social Scheme, the Community Services Programme and the CLÁR/RAPID Programmes. The Rural Development Programme is also subject to ongoing evaluation, with a mid-term review scheduled to commence this month for completion by the end of 2010.

Other initiatives undertaken by my Department to ensure optimal benefits for expenditure, to reduce administrative overheads and to improve performance across the range of community programmes include: a Value for Money Review of the Local Development and Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP); removal of the Regional Support Agencies from the CDP programme; a cohesion process to amalgamate Partnerships and LEADER companies; and a review of CDP clusters.

Further to this work, the LDSIP and the Community Development Programme have been re-aligned and integrated as the new Local Development Community Programme, which came into operation on 1 January 2010.