Indecon to support the review of National Lottery Good Causes funding distribution model

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath T.D. has commissioned Indecon consultants, following a competitive process, to support his Department in a review of the transparency and effectiveness of how National Lottery Good Causes funding is distributed.

Close to 30c of every €1 spent on National Lottery games is returned to the Exchequer to fund Good Cause projects throughout Ireland. Almost €6bn has been raised since the National Lottery commenced operations in 1987.

€425 million will be spent on Good Cause projects in 2021, part-funded by approximately €250 million raised by the National Lottery.

This funding is assigned to a range of projects in areas such as sports, culture, the arts, the Irish language, heritage, health and youth projects.

Announcing the development, Minister McGrath said:

"I am very pleased that Indecon will be supporting my Department in this project to reform the way in which National Lottery funding is allocated. Since its establishment in 1986, National Lottery funding has played a vital role in generating funding for a huge range of Good Causes projects throughout Ireland each year.

"It is timely now that we should review how that funding is allocated, to ensure that it is best targeted to support Good Causes. My Department will be engaging with other Government Departments, and other key stakeholders to consider how this can be improved. We will also draw on evidence of best practice internationally, to generate new proposals for consideration by Government.

"Many other countries such as the UK, New Zealand and Denmark, to name but a few, have different systems to manage the allocation of Lottery funding and we will look to learn from the lessons that can be drawn from the experience of others."