Vol. 430 No. 5
10 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Finance if, in relation to the allocation of national lottery funds, he will ensure that moneys are only allocated to groups, organisations and clubs who provide facilities for the disabled; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
46 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which surplus national lottery funds were allocated in the last six years to groups representing women, travellers and the disabled; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
72 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for Finance if he will ensure that national lottery funds are only allocated to groups, organisations and clubs which do not discriminate against women; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 46 and 72 together.
The Minister for Finance has overall responsibility for the holding of the national lottery. However, as the National Lottery Act, 1986, specifies, it is for the Government to decide how moneys are to be allocated. Once the Government has decided on the allocation of funds on a departmental and programme basis it is then a matter of the spending Minister concerned to decide on the criteria for the disbursement of those funds. In regard to the distribution of funds to particular groups as requested by Deputy Harney, that matter should be addressed to the Ministers concerned.
The Minister for Finance has had direct responsibility for the allocation of national lottery funds to Gaeleagras na Seirbhís Phoiblí. The aim of Gaeleagras is to provide Irish language training for civil servants to enable them to deal with the public through the medium of Irish. Gaeleagras caters for the disabled and does not practice discrimination against women, travellers or the disabled.
On the question of ensuring that national lottery, and indeed public funds generally, are not used to support groups or organisations which practice unfair discrimination it is, in the first instance, a matter for each Minister to decide on criteria for the disbursal of their Department's funds. I would share the Deputies' concern that funds be granted to organisations which do not practice discrimination. It is fair to say that the Government is aware of the importance of combating discrimination, as can be seen by the appointment of a full Cabinet Minister with specific responsibilities in this area.
Do I take it that the Department of Finance is not accountable to this House for the general allocation of lottery funds, and that we have to put down individual questions to Ministers to find out what is happening? Will the Minister of State confirm whether or not, with regard to helping out the disabled, she is acquainted with the fact that the activities of the national lottery are making it very difficult to raise money for the disabled? The voluntary fund raisers for disabled groups are finding it very difficult to raise charitable donations because of the dominant position of the national lottery.
Organisations representing disabled people have expressed concern in this area. However, a very sizeable proportion of lottery funds is allocated to the health area and benefit organisations such as those referred to by the Deputy. The Department of Finance and the Government, as part of the Estimates, decide on the departmental breakdown of lottery funds. The spending of those funds in Government Departments is a matter for individual Ministers. If the Deputy has questions, for instance, in relation to youth and sport lottery spending, it would be appropriate to table those to the Minister for Education.
The three questions tabled were addressed to non-discrimination criteria in respect of the allocation of lottery funds. Presumably there is some simple policy or document allowing or disallowing contributions to voluntary organisations which practise discrimination of the kinds described in the question. Is the Minister saying that these are not known to the Department and that they do not exist as far as the Department is concerned, or are we to take it that the Minister is leaving it to us to ferret out this information by a series of questions to every Department?
I would reassure the Deputy that money has not gone to golf clubs since 1990. These organisations certainly practised discrimination against women. In relation to the general allocation, the role of the Department of Finance is to allocate the funds to individual sectors. The Government as a whole has a policy in relation to non-discrimination and has appointed Deputy Mervyn Taylor as Minister for Equality and Law Reform to deal with the issue. The Minister is very active in pursuing the issues within his responsibility. The Department of Finance allocates a block of funding to individual departments. I am sure the Deputy opposite would agree with the principle of subsidiarity and that it is a matter for individual Ministers to decide how their funds are allocated.
Will the Minister of State say what criteria there are in relation to non-discrimination against disabled people? Is there a document at any departmental level or in the Department of Finance which says that funds should not be given out to organisations which do not cater for the disabled? It is a fairly simple question which deserves a simple answer.
A circular from the Minister's Department would do the job.
This Government has already——
Waffled a lot.
This Government has already done more on behalf of people with disability than previous governments. In the budget this year we allocated £8.5 million for services for people with disabilities. The additional money allocated in the area of mental handicap was the highest such increase——
We heard that before.
You promised £25 million.
——paid by any Government, including the Government of which Deputy McDowell's party was a member.
We are talking about lottery funds.
With regard to discrimination, although my responsibilities are onerous and numerous, they do not include equality. If the Deputy opposite has a detailed question in relation to policies in this area I suggest that he table it to Deputy Taylor who is the responsible Minister.
Clearly there are no criteria.
