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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Apr 1992

Vol. 418 No. 6

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Funding of Charitable Organisations.

John Stafford

Question:

13 Mr. Stafford asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the increasing success of the national lottery, he will consider measures aimed at redressing the balance of inflows towards charitable organisations who have been adversely affected by the national lottery success; and if in particular, he will consider (a) restricting the growth of inflows to the national lottery and (b) funding the deficits being experienced by charities which can be identified as directly attributable to switching of funds to the national lottery.

I fully recognise and admire the very good work done by voluntary and charitable organisations and I acknowledge that fund-raising must be a constant source of concern to them. However, the Deputy will appreciate that the question of fund-raising by charitable organisations whether by way of lotteries or other activities is not in the first instance a matter for my Department. While there have been from time to time allegations that charities have seen their lottery sales decline in recent years, it is my understanding that such lotteries represent only a very small proportion of the total funds raised by voluntary organisations.

As Minister responsible for the national lottery, however, I could not accept any proposal which would restrict the growth and development of the national lottery, given that any such move would have severe consequences for the many important programmes which are funded by the national lottery — including, indeed, many voluntary and charitable organisations.

The question of whether funding might be made available to voluntary bodies who could demonstrate that the national lottery had adversely affected their fund-raising is one of a wide range of issues covered by a comprehensive submission from a number of charities which is currently under consideration in my Department. That study is ongoing and I would not be able to express a view on that particular issue pending completion of that study. I hope to be able to respond to the points made by the charities in their submission soon.

The Minister has left the door open slightly. Organisations like the Irish Wheelchair Association have great difficulty in raising large sums of money. I know the Minister will meet them and discuss ways of getting around the problem. Their voluntary work is excellent but they have a problem in raising large sums.

Deputy Michael Lowry is offering.

The Deputy wants the Minister to offer.

Would the Minister accept that charitable organisations are understandably critical and cynical about the politicisation of allocations from the national lottery? What proposals has the Minister to ensure that applications are dealt with on merit rather than on political considerations? Will the Minister re-examine the role of local authorities in vetting these applications? At the moment the local authorities only confirm that the organisation which has made the application exists and is not associated with a paramilitary group. They could have a far more meaningful role.

We are having an injection of quite new matter into this.

A lot of the money collected through the lottery goes back into departmental Estimates and then goes to charitable groups. The Department of Social Welfare estimated that some £200 million was paid to voluntary bodies from the Exchequer in 1991 and that approximately £20 million of that came directly from the national lottery. The Deputies in their questions suggest that some of the charities who have pools and other fund-raising events feel that they have lost out. These issues have to be considered. Developing the lottery and taking profits back into the system to try to assist local communities is the best way forward. The other question raised by Deputy Lowry has been resolved.

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