asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport the procedure for funding Irish lifeboats; the degree of subvention from the Government in this regard; and if he considers that this is adequate.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Lifeboats.
20.
The lifeboat service in this country and in Britain is provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which is an independent organisation maintained by voluntary subscriptions. It receives an annual grant of £20,000 from my Department. The amount of grant is reviewed annually.
What other grants have the Royal National Lifeboat Institution received? As I indicated in the question, I would like to know the total funding.
I would not be aware of any grant except the grant provided by my Department.
I asked the Minister the procedure for funding Irish lifeboats and the degree of subvention by the Government. It is reasonable to expect that he would have the information about the balance of it to hand as well. Does he believe that a little more could be done here or that it is right that the lifeboat service, which provides a very good service, should rely almost totally on voluntary subscriptions most of which come from outside the country?
Surely the Deputy is not suggesting that in regard to a voluntary organisation which is financed by voluntary contributions I should be able to give him the details of the contributions received by the society. I have informed him as to what our contribution is and in so far as I am aware there is no financial contribution made other than this by the State here or, in fact, by Britain.
Is this the amount they asked for or have they asked for an increase in the amount? There is enormous expense in running a lifeboat service. Is that all they ask for? Is this a consistent figure or do they ever ask for more than the Minister gives them?
I think the Deputy will accept that this organisation value their independence and are anxious in so far as is possible to continue to operate on a voluntary basis. I am sure they would accept a larger grant if that were made available to them. Certainly there are no strings attached to grants made available by my Department. From my discussions with them I feel that they are very anxious to remain independent.
Does the Minister accept that £20,000 is an adequate grant from the Department for the excellent work provided by this institution?
I have pointed out already that as far as I am aware no other grant is paid by, for example, the British Government and that this is the only grant that is paid. I am reviewing this annually and I will be looking at this situation again when the time comes.
Could I ask the Minister to reply to my question? Does he consider that £20,000 now is an adequate contribution from the State?
It depends on how you look at it. I have pointed out to the Deputy that this organisation exists on voluntary contributions and has existed for quite a number of years on voluntary contributions. The RNLI are most anxious to retain their independence and we certainly value the services which they provide. This is the grant that we have made available and I will review the grant next year.
Does the Minister accept that this year that figure is an adequate contribution?
The amount of money being made available is a grant and makes State money available to an organisation who have always operated on a voluntary basis.
Independence and provision of grants are two totally different things. You could double the grant and independence need not be threatened.
Possibly.