asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give a breakdown of grant payments and commitments to date from national lottery funds in each county.
Written Answers. - National Lottery Funds.
12.
Funds from the national lottery have been allocated to my Department for disaster relief in developing countries and for cultural relations with other countries.
A total of £800,000 has been allocated to date from the national lottery to my Department for disaster relief in developing countries.
Four hundred thousand pounds were allocated in 1988 from the national lottery to the Department of Foreign Affairs for the promotion of cultural relations with other countries and a further £400,000 has been allocated in 1989. Grants are made under this heading by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to go towards the promotion of Irish cultural and artistic events, lecture tours, and so on abroad.
As I indicated in my reply to a question on 8 November 1988, applications for such grants may be received from groups and individuals anywhere in Ireland and in many cases are not readily identifiable with a particular geographic location. Furthermore, most of the funds granted are of their nature expended either abroad or on travel abroad. Indentification of expenditure by particular regions would not, therefore, be particularly meaningful.