Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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144. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government whether a use it or lose it by year-end rule is or has been in operation within his Department when devolving funding to agencies under his remit on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29195/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The funding of agencies under my Department’s aegis is subject to financial controls and governance as set out in the Public Financial Procedures, the Public Spending Codeand Circular 13/2014; Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds.

All funding unexpended by an agency at the end of the year must be surrendered to my Department. However, in certain circumstances, on foot of Department of Public Expenditure and Reform sanction, where it is deemed necessary to meet financial requirements (such as salaries), an agency may retain all or a portion of a year-end balance. In these circumstances, any retained balances are kept to a minimum and factored into the level of financial support provided to the agency in the following year.