Vol. 508 No. 4
67 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the list of grants for community and family support groups; and the way in which the overall sums disbursed to date in 1999 compare with the sums granted in each of the years from 1995 to 1998. [18875/99]
My Department operates three schemes under which once-off grants are made available for community and family support groups as follows: scheme of grants to voluntary organisations; community development education and training grants scheme; scheme of grants for locally-based community and family support groups. While some grants have been approved, the bulk of the allocation has not yet been spent for 1999.
I might mention that details of the expenditure under each scheme and all the grants made in each year 1990 to 1998 have been placed in the Oireachtas Library for the information of Members. As soon as details of all grants paid in 1999 have been compiled, they will also be placed in the Library. I will arrange for a copy to be made available to the Deputy at that time.
Applications under these schemes are assessed at regional level within my Department. While there is an element of flexibility to ensure that larger projects that are particularly worthwhile can be funded even in the regions with a smaller share of the population, the available funds are allocated to each region in accordance with its portion of the population of the State. The funds under these schemes were allocated in the same way in each of the years since 1995 and there has been no change in the system this year.
