197 Mr. Hughes asked the Minister for Education the amount allocated per head of population basis under the recreational facilities scheme for each of the years from 1994 to 1996; and her views on whether the way in which the scheme operates at present is fair in view of the fact that the entire allocation to County Mayo is less than the allocation for County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22429/96]

The total grant aid allocated to each county for the years 1994 to 1996 under the recreational facilities grant scheme and the amounts allocated per head of population for these years is set out in the following table.

Projects are selected for assistance in accordance with criteria which includes the priority of the proposed improvements/facility in relation to the organisations' existing facilities; the amount of local funds available; the ability of an organisation to undertake the project; the availability of other facilities in the area; the need to achieve an equitable geographical spread of funds and the need to achieve an equitable spread of funds among different sports and community groups.

In addition, my Department has regard to the number of applications received and the level of funding allocated to each county in previous years under both the recreational and major facilities schemes. I am satisfied that these schemes are operated in a fair and reasonable manner.