Would the Minister confirm that at year end there will be a net Exchequer surrender of lottery funds of the order of £20 million?

What does the Deputy mean?

Despite the Minister's lengthy explanation to the House, I want him to tell us that the Exchequer will have on hands, unexpended, at year end £20 million, that the exercise will start in 1988 on the basis of an income of £36 million, that the purpose of the lottery is being vitiated in a major way, that so far about £5 million or £6 million has been spent and that the Minister will probably spend another £7 or £8 million by the year end? In effect, this money will be unexpended, surrendered and absorbed into net Exchequer receipts at the end of the year. Is that not the reality?

One has to wait until the end of the year before one can be specific.

There are only five or six weeks to go.

What I said in my reply was that the money is in a suspense account and only as it is allocated and required is it taken out of the account and given to the Department of Finance and the spending agencies concerned.

Does the Minister not accept that the Department of Finance, with the rigorous monitoring that has gone on in relation to monthly receipts, have ensured that that money has been transferred to the Exchequer account from An Post, that interest is accruing on that money at this stage, as conceded by the Minister, that by no stretch of the imagination can, at the maximum, a few million pounds be spent between now and the end of the year and that this will be reflected in next year's——

I must insist on a brief question.

Does the Minister agree that only £4 or £5 million of national lottery money has been spent?

I said £5 million.

The Minister will agree that with net Exchequer receipts of £36 million, at year end there will be £20 million in the Exchequer which will not be spent on health, sport, youth or any other area.

This is leading to argument.

If this money is not spent, it will not be in the Exchequer account. It will be in the lottery fund deposit account.

But it will not be spent.

Within the next week or so we will announce all the details which will include further expenditure allocations for 1987 and the total allocation for 1988.

Is the Minister seriously suggesting that about £30 million of lottery money will be spent and allocated between now and 31 December 1987?

He did not say that. He said 1988.

I do not believe him.

I did not say that. The Deputy was not listening.

The Minister will fund the Christmas bonus out of this money.

We will not.

This £20 million will be spent on the Christmas bonus.

Nonsense.