Vol. 489 No. 7
13 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach if the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion and Drugs has considered the procedures for the disbursement of funds to approved projects in the task force areas; if his attention has been drawn to concerns expressed in relation to the delays in payments to approved projects; if the committee will consider measures to streamline payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8141/98]
The national drugs strategy team, in consultation with the relevant statutory agencies and the local drugs task forces, prepared procedures for the disbursement of funding to implement approved projects in the task force plans. These procedures were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Drugs and subsequently by the Government at the time.
To date, the procedures have been operating satisfactorily and there are no proposals to change them. These procedures contain an appeals mechanism to deal with any difficulties which may arise in relation to the individual projects which are being funded.
I am fully aware of the difficulties in relation to the drawdown of funding for some of the approved projects which are being funded through a VEC in one task force area. I have taken this matter up with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, and I have been informed that issues in the VEC, which had delayed the processing of the funding, are now being addressed. I have been assured that, as a result, payments in respect of the outstanding task force projects are now being processed by the VEC as speedily as possible in accordance with normal public financial procedures.
