asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether he proposes to publish an annual list of names of persons and the amounts paid to each in respect of those who applied for and received grants from Bord Fáilte for hotel building, improvement and reconstruction.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bord Fáilte Grants.
5.
The giving of financial assistance for the development of hotel accommodation is one of the statutory functions of Bord Fáilte Éireann and the schemes of grants are financed by the Board from moneys voted annually by the Dáil in the form of a grant-in-aid in my Department's Vote. The main conditions governing the grant schemes, including the maxima applicable to the various forms of development, are subject to my approval and the approval of the Minister for Finance but the implementation of the schemes has been entrusted to Bord Fáilte whose administration of it is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is the Board's responsibility to determine in the light of the approved conditions the amount of grant payable in the case of each development. In dealing with applications each individual case is treated on its merits; the Board take account of the type and price level of the accommodation proposed, the amount of accommodation already available, the market needs, the location of the development, the amount of off-season business available and other relevant factors.
A substantial proportion of Irish hotels are small in size and are owned by individuals, families or small private companies and these people expect that their dealings with Bord Fáilte, particularly about their financial affairs, will receive confidential treatment. Bord Fáilte consider that publication of details of individual grants would tend to inhibit investment in hotel development. In view of the importance of maintaining the rate of investment in hotels to cater for the expected growth of tourist traffic, I feel that the adoption of the Deputy's suggestion would not be in the public interest.
Is the Minister serious in denying the right of the duly elected Members of this House to the information sought in this question? Does he agree that particulars of the disbursement of £900,000 under this heading in the current year should be kept from Members of this House and does he assert that we must give a blank cheque as we have done in the current year for £900,000 and have no details available to Members of the House? Is that the evidence we have from the Minister of his democracy in dealing with the affairs of his Department? I should like to know that first and I have a number of other questions when the Minister has answered that.
The Members of the House have before them the leaflet describing in full the variation in the grants and the general principles upon which Bord Fáilte base their grants. I myself have had very few complaints from any hotelier or any guesthouse keeper in the country that he was wrongly deprived of any particular grant. The grants are given on a most complicated basis and if this information was made available in connection with the very numerous guesthouses and hotels receiving grants all over the country there would be claims and counter-claims and questions as to why a particular hotel did not get a larger grant and why a hotel got such a larger grant. This is a system of delegated authority under which Bord Fáilte has acted for a number of years and, from what I recollect of all the debates in this House on the Estimate for my Department, although many matters have been raised and complaints made in regard to various services performed by various State bodies from time to time, I do not recall that there has been any sense of disquiet on the part of Members of the House at the manner in which these grants are given.
Ceist a Sé.
Question 5 is still under discussion.
Deputy Murphy will appreciate that we have 111 Questions on the Order Paper.
I appreciate that I have an important question here and, as a duly elected Member of the House, I am going to ask supplementary questions. I have asked only one so far.
The other Deputies feel that their questions are important also.
I am not taking from them. If you wish I shall wait for the Adjournment. Will the Minister differentiate between the procedure applied as regards grants made available by the Industrial Development Authority and the former Foras Tionscal where the information is made available annually to the general public and what is made available by Bord Fáilte? As a duly elected Member of the House, I disagree with the Minister's assertion that I and my colleagues are not entitled to details of the expenditure of this £900,000. Is something shady happening? Must some applicants, as has been alleged to me by people who are dissatisfied, join this organisation? Must you pay £100 to Taca in order to qualify? Will the Minister not agree that the only proper way is to let everybody see that justice is done by publishing the figures? If we give £50,000, £70,000 or £80,000 to Mr. A down the country to develop his hotel from public funds taken from the taxpayers through the medium of taxation, in my opinion the taxpayer should know where the money is going.
The Deputy's reference to Taca is nauseating.
(Interruptions.)
Taca is nauseating.
If the Deputy looks at the names of the members and the directors of Bord Fáilte he will find among them people who are utterly incapable of being influenced by such political considerations and the Deputy knows that well. There never has been any criticism or suggestion that individual members of the board or the chief executives of Bord Fáilte have been guilty of that kind of thing.
I am calling Question No. 6.
Will the Minister——
Will Deputy Murphy please allow questions to continue? He cannot monopolise Question Time. Question No. 6.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I wish to raise the subject matter of this question on the Adjournment.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.
They gave it to the Taca hotel in Limerick.
And in Galway also.
We want to know where the money is going.