Your Country, Your Call; Further Questions, Parliamentary and Otherwise

From Tuesdayoi 23rd March’s Dáil record, a Parliamentary Question about Your Country, Your Call.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

Question 155: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her Department has given, or undertaken to give, public money to An Smaoineamh Mór Limited, a registered company currently advertising a competition under the style and title Your Country Your Call; if so the amount of money from what budget or programme it was taken and under what statutory power it was transferred; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12702/10]

And the answer from the Minister;

Mary Coughlan (Tánaiste; Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Although it is not a Government-led initiative, the objectives of “Your Country Your Call” are to identify proposals which will have a significant positive economic impact on Ireland and which will help to secure sustainable employment. I view the initiative as being complementary to the work being carried out by my Department and its agencies. In this context, my Department is currently examining a proposal to provide funding of up to €300,000 to the “Your Country Your Call” initiative from within existing resources. No funding has yet been paid by my Department in respect of the initiative. However, if funding is made available, a key objective for my officials will be to ensure that the necessary financial procedures are followed and that mechanisms are put in place to ensure appropriate management and accountability of public funds.

Which is odd. Because it shows (a) the Minister hasn’t made a decision to give An Smaoineamh Mór Limited any money and (b) that the amount of money she is considering paying is any figure ‘up to’ €300,000. It also raises questions as to what conditions may be placed on any funding.

What is most odd about those facts is that Padraig McKeon- MD of Drury Communications and member of the Your Country Your Call ‘Steering Committee’- seems not to know that An Smaoineamh Mór Ltd remains an unapproved applicant.

Here he is on the 6th of March on ValueIreland.com outlining some of the strangely opaque funding sources for An Smaoineamh Mór Ltd, which is the company running the Your Country, Your Call competition.

A cash fund of just under €2m has been accumulated via donations from 13 parties (companies and individuals) which has been lodged in the accounts of the company, An Smaoineamh Mor, which is a registered charity…

You ask about Government or political involvement. There is no government or political involvement in either setting up or operating the competition. However YCYC is not merely ’suggesting’ it has Government support. The project explicitly has that support. Specifically, the promoters formally presented the project to government late last summer and asked for support in three ways – a contribution to the fund referred above, a request that the competition would have access if it needed it to the services of the state enterprise agencies in the evalauation process (if such help were required) and a commitment that government would engage with the process of developing the two winning proposals, particularly with reference to any legislative issues that might need to be addressed. It agreed to all three requests – it will be contributing 15% of the fund; there has been no requirement to this point for the involvemnent of the state agencies and clearly there is no need for development support at this point.-(Emphasis added)

So, has An Smaoineamh Mór got €300,000 of public money in a bank account today?

Or not?