Funds allocation - Preferential treatment by ministers

Ministers are appointed to represent the whole country, but some members of the Government have engaged in the naked preferment of their own constituencies, especially in matters like decentralisation and the allocation of sports grants.

John O’Donoghue, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, has been brazen in the preferment of his own Kerry South constituency. His predecessor Jim McDaid did essentially the same thing in preferring sports organisations in his Donegal constituency.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism (DAST) recommends the clubs or organisations that should get the grants, but this is worked on the basis of a conservative estimate of the money likely to be allocated to the department. Last year, the DAST assumed that it would have €52 million to allocate, but it actually got an extra €9m and Mr O’Donoghue allocated that as he wished.