Vol. 424 No. 1
125 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding available to him for allocation to voluntary bodies or agencies in the current year from the proceeds of the national lottery; the amounts allocated to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
127 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the amount of national lottery funding allocated by him to the various voluntary organisations in County Kildare in the current year; the amounts, if any, still available for allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 127 together.
I have allocated a total of £1.6 million national lottery funds to the health boards specifically for distribution to voluntary agencies operating in their areas in 1992. In addition, substantial blocks of lottery funds have been allocated by my Department to the health boards under various headings such as services for the elderly, child care services, services for the mentally handicapped, etc. Health boards use this money to fund their own services and to assist voluntary agencies providing services on their behalf. It is not possible to say what proportion of overall lottery funds are made available to voluntary groups. Lottery funds allocated directly by me are mainly for the assistance of national rather than local voluntary organisations. I have allocated no lottery funds directly to voluntary agencies in County Kildare this year, but I am sure that many such groups will benefit from the lottery funds allocated by my Department to the Eastern Health Board as described above.
