Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 355: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the most up to date situation regarding the outstanding RAPID application submitted by the Ballina Area Implementation Committee County Mayo; and when he intends to make a decision on the matter. [35713/11]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 371: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of those towns that were approved funding for RAPID programmes to be initiated within them; the total cost of the projects that were identified; the funding arrangements that were put in place to meet the commitment at the time; the situation at present in relation to the programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35921/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 and 371 together.

I assume the questions refer to the decision to approve disbursements from the Dormant Accounts Fund for a once-off measure up to the value of €1.25m for the five new provincial towns incorporated under RAPID. These are Ballina, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Mullingar and Rathkeale.

Under Government Accounting procedures, disbursements on Dormant Accounts measures are paid in the first instance "up front" from a Department's Vote in the same way as with any other spending programme. The Dormant Accounts capital budget for my Department for 2011 is fully committed to existing projects and our priority in the light of that allocation must be to ensure that there is sufficient funding available to meet existing legal contractual commitments. Accordingly, the matter of progressing projects in the new RAPID towns to contract stage will be kept under active review in the light of availability of funding/ levels of expenditure across my Department's Vote during 2011 and into 2012.