James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a National Lottery discretionary fund in place which provides once-off grants to community groups and organisations providing a range of health related services. The assessment of applications is made on the basis that these grants are intended to be discretionary 'once off ' funding and are not intended to fund ongoing services. Once an application has been received and registered, my Department consults with the Health Service Executive and assesses the merits of the application and the impact the service provider in question has on local and national health services.

The Government's tax clearance procedures apply to all grants allocated. These procedures mean that groups must certify that their tax affairs are in order, and provide their Tax Reference Number and Tax Clearance Certificate where appropriate. Alternatively, if an organisation has been granted Charitable Tax Exemption from the Revenue Commissioners, their CHY number must accompany the application.

Organisations are made aware of the terms of approval regarding certification and must furnish a certified invoice or an audited statement of accounts which clearly shows where the grant was spent and that it was used for the purpose it was provided for. It is also a condition of the grant that certification of expenditure should be submitted to the Department as soon as possible after the end of the financial year or when the project is completed (whichever is earlier).