Vol. 472 No. 6
86 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Heritage Council is unable to pay approved grants in view of the fact that his Department has not forwarded the relevant finance from the national lottery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23926/96]
The Estimates for my Department for the current year provide for expenditure of £2.2 million by the Heritage Council, subhead P.2 of Vote 42, of which £1.8 million is national lottery funded. These moneys have been transferred in instalments from my Department to the council during the course of the year. The Estimates for 1997, published yesterday, include an allocation of £2.91 million, including £2.5 million from lottery funds, for the Heritage Council, an increase of 32 per cent on the 1996 figure.
