Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
297. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of money received from the National Lottery Fund in each of the years 2009 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the way this was divided between Government Departments in each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25013/15]
View answer298. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the way moneys received from the National Lottery Fund in 2013 were spent on each project to which they were directed, including projects that were part-funded and wholly-funded from the fund; if he will indicate, for each such part-funded project, where the balance of funding was sourced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25032/15]
View answer299. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount of money that was received by his Department from the National Lottery Fund in each of the years 2009 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; if he will provide a detailed breakdown indicating the way this money was spent, or otherwise directed, for each of these years; if any moneys are held in reserve arising from funds received over this period or before; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25048/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 297 to 299, inclusive, together.
The National Lottery Fund was established under the National Lottery Act 1986 and continues in being by virtue of Section 44 of the National Lottery Act 2013. The fund is now managed by the National Lottery Regulator. Prior to his appointment last November it was managed by my Department. The fund receives the proceeds of the sales of National Lottery Tickets after deduction of commission paid to sellers. The fund provides for prizes for winning tickets, funding for good causes and for the annual levy for the operating costs of the regulator. The accounts of the Fund are submitted annually to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and the Regulator is required to publish a copy of an abstract of the accounts including the C&AG report.
Appendix 1 of the annual Revised Estimates for Public Services gives a breakdown by Department of all the expenditure areas that are supported by the proceeds of the National Lottery. This is available on my Department's website (http://www.per.gov.ie/estpubexp2013/ ). A table outlining the aggregate amounts available from the Lottery Fund for Good Causes in each year from 2009 to 2015 is set out below:
Funds for Good Causes
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2009 |
€275m |
|
2010 |
€250m |
|
2011 |
€230m |
|
2012 |
€220m |
|
2013 |
€210m |
|
2014 |
€200m |
|
2015 |
€200m |
For approximately a decade, the total allocation for the relevant subheads has exceeded the amount available from the National Lottery. Therefore, these subheads are now described as being part-funded by the National Lottery and the balance of the expenditure allocation for the subheads comes from normal Exchequer sources. For example, for 2015, overall expenditure under these subheads is estimated at €412 million while the proceeds of the National Lottery are estimated at just over €200 million. Individual Government Departments with responsibility for expenditure that is part-funded by the National Lottery can provide details of such expenditure, including lists of recipient organisations and amounts involved.
