I thank the Chair for allowing me raise this matter. In 1995 Cavan received £20,000 out of a total allocation of £1.5 million for new projects under the recreational facilities scheme. I tabled a question to the Minister seeking a breakdown of the allocation and was surprised that allocations ranged from £10,000 for one county to £419,000 for another. This is a very good scheme and many groups apply for funding under it, for example, boxing clubs, karate clubs and so on. I was disappointed to see that the six Border counties received £152,000 while their counterparts in the South received £500,000. That imbalance concerns me. Normally my county would receive 2 per cent of the national allocation for housing or other funding. In this case we received 0.75 per cent which is one-third of our normal entitlement of a national allocation.
As it turned out, there was much worse to come. Last night, the Minister of State allocated £150,000 to a community centre in a small village in south County Meath. We got £2,000 more than that for six counties from the Irish Sea to the west coast. It would be great if that amount could be given to every village but we cannot afford to do that. A sum of £10 million would not have covered all the requests but some semblance of balance should be introduced to those allocations. There is no justification for allocating £150,000 to a small hamlet close to Dublin city where there are adequate recreation facilities. Discretionary grants must be dealt with in an even handed way. If that case was brought to court, justice would be done. What happened is a disgrace.
This fund is the subject of many representations from groups and voluntary organisations. I often told Ministers in my party that the fund should be evenly allocated. I would not give more than £5,000 to any community group. Such groups have told me that if they could get £2,000 or £3,000 they could buy materials. My view may be contrary to that of many public representatives but I feel modest community centres should be provided. They are essential if we want to keep communities alive. I opposed a £250,000 facility in my area. Instead we extended the parochial hall which is a hive of activity. That project received £5,000 during its early stages many years ago.
For a number of years, county council officials examined such projects. If they approved them, the Department paid for them. Why was that function removed from the local authorities and given to the Department of Education? The county councils ensured an even handed spread of funds, which is all that any public representative should seek. Every area is entitled to a balanced allocation of the funding.
