I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 13 together.
Following the enactment of the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2005 the Government approved the allocation of €60 million from the Dormant Accounts Fund in 2006. In this regard, €24 million is being allocated towards projects tackling economic and social disadvantage; €18 million towards projects tackling educational disadvantage and €18 million towards projects assisting persons with a disability.
On 4th January 2006, following Government approval, I announced details of the €24 million allocation for the purpose of supporting the following programmes and projects tacking economic and social disadvantage:
RAPID Programme — up to €11.5m to be ring-fenced to provide additional supports for priority projects in RAPID areas;
Support for Priority Themes — €7.5m for specific measures supporting youth, older people and other priority themes (including suicide prevention; alcohol misuse; supports for immigrant families; supports for offenders/ex-offenders); and
Support for Jointly Funded Flagship Projects — €5 for innovative measures addressing matters of major public concern, which also involve substantial funding from private, philanthropic or community sources.
The roll-out of these measures is well underway. In early July, I announced the details of the 188 priority projects in RAPID areas approved by Government for funding totalling €11.35 million. Full details of these allocations are available on the website of my Department at www.pobail.ie. Within the projects approved, there is great diversity both in scale and purpose. Examples include refurbishments to community facilities; supports for youth art and information technology projects; funding for football summer workshops etc.
In August, I announced that the Government had approved the allocation of €574,989 from the Dormant Accounts Fund to fund six projects providing employment supports to vulnerable immigrant families. In relation to the other measures approved for funding in 2006, it is anticipated that further announcements will be made over the coming months as the applications received under these various measures are fully processed and recommendations made to Government in accordance with the legislation.
The arrangements in relation to the next round of funding in 2007 are currently under consideration. In this regard, the Deputies will be aware that the legislation requires the Minister to consult other appropriate Ministers for the purpose of developing a proposal for submission to Government for approval. This process has commenced and I hope to be in a position to bring a proposal to Government shortly concerning the 2007 round of funding. The possibility of ring-fencing further funding for RAPID areas will be considered in this context.