Vol. 574 No. 5
250 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the effects the 6% reduction in the 2004 allocation for local development and social inclusion measures will have on the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27856/03]
Subhead L in my Department's Vote for 2004 provides an amount of €42.2 million for local development – social inclusion measures. While the amount in this subhead in 2003 was €44.662 million, it should be noted that the provision in 2003 included a budget of €1.5 million to support the implementation of the RAPID programme. This support budget is now shown in a subhead Q2 and therefore the real reduction in subhead L in 2004 is 2%.
