asked the Minister for Finance the total sum of national lottery money held by the Exchequer or otherwise on hand after being received from the national lottery as of 1 June, pending distribution in accordance with National Lottery Act; the total amount of interest earned on national lottery money so held by the Exchequer from the foundation of the lottery to 1 June 1988; and whether this interest earned will be disbursed as national lottery money or used for other purposes.
Written Answers. - National Lottery Fund.
The amount held on deposit in the national lottery fund investment account at 1 June 1988 was £35.1 million; this included £2 million accrued expenses and prize liability owing to An Post National Lottery Company at that date.
Funds for approved projects are issued from Subhead N — Fund for Distribution of Surplus of National Lottery (grant-in-aid) — of the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Finance to suspense accounts maintained by the spending Departments concerned. £23.812 million issued in the period to 1 June 1988 of which £10.815 million had been paid out by end-1987. The breakdown by category, in accordance with the terms of the National Lottery Act, 1986, is as follows:
Category |
Amount £m |
£m |
|
Arts and Culture (including the Irish Language) |
7.462 |
Sports, Youth and Recreation |
8.610 |
Health |
6.462 |
Welfare |
0.353 |
Amenities |
0.450 |
Dublin Millennium (for arts/culture, amenity and recreational projects) |
0.475 |
Total |
23.812 |
Interest accruing to the investment account from its establishment in March 1987 to end-May 1988, is estimated at £2.6 million. The interest so earned is reckoned as part of the proceeds of the national lottery and is available for disbursement in the same way as the surplus proper.