Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2026
1008. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the assessments that are carried out to determine the level of Exchequer funding that any NGO receives from her Department on an annual basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11827/26]
View answerAssessments made on bids for Exchequer funding are carried out during the annual budget estimates process. The requirements of each submission made to the Department are assessed based primarily on two criteria.
Firstly, assessments are made regarding the allocation of funding required to maintain the Existing Levels of Services (ELS) into the coming year, so that the same level of existing activities can be carried forward from the previous year into the next, as required. Considerations of ELS include several factors such as inflationary costs, evolving demands due to natural demographic growth as well as increased operational costs borne by the organisation or service provider in fulfilling their obligations.
Secondly the cost of any new additional measures or budgetary measures, which are intended to be undertaken in the coming year, are assessed.
Funding requirements are then further scrutinised and analysed as part of the annual budget negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).
Once the annual allocation is determined and set out in the annual budget, it is then included in the Revised Estimates document (REV). It is the Department’s responsibility to ensure that the annual budget allocation is managed continually throughout the year. The Department also seeks to ensure that any recipients of funding have in place the appropriate systems to meet their compliance obligations, in accordance with their responsibilities as recipients of public funding.
