Vol. 497 No. 5
157 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will allocate funds to the Meath Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in view of the work carried out by this organisation with extremely limited funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25588/98]
As I indicated in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 99 of 5 November, my Department does not operate specific schemes to allocate funds to animal welfare bodies. However, ex gratia payments have been made by my Department in recent years to a number of such bodies out of resources available in the Vote at the end of the year.
I will consider the request from the Meath Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in light of any resources that may become available and having regard to any competing claims that may be received.
