John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Minister for Health the timeframe for the allocation of funds under his Department's 2015 national lottery fund. [15914/15]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Minister for Health if funding and-or grants are available from his or any other Department for the purchase by community groups of defibrillators; and his views on this matter. [15915/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together.

My Department administers a National Lottery Discretionary Fund from which once-off grants are paid to community and voluntary organisations providing a range of health related services. An organisation wishing to apply for National Lottery Funding must complete and submit a formal application. The closing date for receipt of the application form is 1 May 2015 at 12:00 noon. Following receipt of an application, the relevant Unit in my Department liaises with the appropriate personnel in the Health Service Executive to assess each individual application and consider whether it meets the criteria for recommendation. When the assessment has been completed and a recommendation has been made, I review each application and prioritise them according to their merits before awarding National Lottery funding. Application forms can be found on the Department of Health's website www.health.gov.ie.

Funding in 2015 amounts to €3.286 million, all of which will be allocated before year end.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy and proves useful.