John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Health the funding allocated by his Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; if he will list those organisations and the funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process that is in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38672/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Funding provided by my Department to organisations not directly audited by the C&AG in each of the past five years is as follows:

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland funding is specifically for the annual work programme of the Irish Institute of Pharmacy. The Dental Health Foundation funding is for the annual work programme of the Irish Expert Body on Flourides and Health.

All agencies are subject to a Financial Control Framework and must comply with my Department's Framework for Corporate and Financial Governance. Agencies also have obligations and responsibilities under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.

In addition, 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. Organisations must furnish a certified invoice or an audited statement of accounts which clearly shows where the grant was spent. In the event that the grant has not been spent, in whole or in part, a statement of the amount expended and a schedule of the proposed spending of the unused balance must be supplied. It is also a condition of the grant that certification of expenditure should be submitted to my Department as soon as possible after the end of the financial year or when the project is completed (whichever is earlier). The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General may wish to audit an organisation’s accounts at any time. Details of the recipients of lottery grants are available on my Department's website at www.health.gov.ie.