Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends making any money available from the Dormant Accounts fund for small projects in RAPID areas this year and also for flagship projects nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33736/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I have allocated € 6.385m for Dormant Accounts m easures in 2013, which includes €2.835m to be used to support labour activation measures in local a uthorities, with the remainder to be used to meet existing contractual commitments, including a small residual spend on the RAPID additionality measure for the 5 new towns afforded RAPID status in recent years and a jointly-funded flagship project for the development of an Integrated Services Centre in the Mitchel's regeneration area in Tralee, Co Kerry.

Under the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012, my Department is in the course of preparing a new disbursement scheme in consultation with relevant Government Departments. Every euro spent from the Dormant Accounts Fund is regarded in accounting terms as a potential Government liability and adds to Government debt levels, which have a ceiling set by the EU, the IMF and ECB. In the current economic climate, our priority is to ensure that funding is targeted on a needs basis and spent efficiently and effectively. This applies to dormant accounts disbursements as well as to supports for the community and voluntary sector generally. I have also provided €2 million in my Department’s estimates for 2013 for RAPID, which will be used to meet existing contractual commitments on RAPID projects throughout the country, mainly Sports Capital top-ups and CCTV systems, jointly funded with the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Justice and Equality respectively. Expenditure under this heading is not reimbursed from the Dormant Accounts Fund.