Vol. 554 No. 5
982 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount of funding granted by each health board to the Motor Neuron Disease Association; if his Department has given funding direct to the association; if not, his plans to do so; if an application for funding to the SEHB submitted by the MNDA in June 2002 can be expedited; and if the amount of ?30,000 as requested will be granted. [15830/02]
The Motor Neurone Disease Association received funding of £98,999 from the Northern Area Health Board in 2001, as per the association's financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2001. The association did not receive any funding from the other health boards. My Department has not given funding direct to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. However, €48,000 was allocated in 2002 to the Eastern Regional Health Authority for the purpose of assisting the association.
The provision of additional funding to organisations providing health services for people with disabilities is a matter for the health boards in the first instance. Any application for funding to a health board is entirely a matter for the relevant health board, in this case the South Eastern Health Board. My Department has therefore asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the final matter raised by the Deputy and reply to him directly.
