Vol. 451 No. 7
77 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health the reason he has decided to discontinue funding to the La Leche League in County Meath in view of the contribution made by the league to the promotion of breastfeeding and also in view of the fact that the Government's national breastfeeding policy published in 1994 aims to increase the rate and duration of breastfeeding in Ireland which is among the lowest in Europe. [7158/95]
Over the past years, the Health Promotion Unit of my Department has provided funding to La Leche League of Ireland on a national basis following applications for financial assistance for particular initiatives. The present position is that the report of the National Committee to Promote Breastfeeding, "A National Breastfeeding Policy for Ireland," was disseminated between July and October last year to all appropriate relevant agencies and organisations together with a request for their plans for the implementation of the relevant recommendations. A timeframe of six months was allowed for responses and the consultative process is now nearing completion. Some responses, including that from La Leche League, involve requests for funding and these are under consideration in my Department. Decisions on the allocation of resources will be made on completion of the consultative process.
