The Lotteries Fund for Just Causes is limited and though many activities could be considered a just cause, they had to prioritise and make choices about which projects should be eligible, the Finance Ministry said.

It was referring to comments by the Association of Local Councils and by the opposition’s spokesman on local councils, Stefan Buontempo. It said it had been decided that every body which is financed by the government, which meant this did not apply only to local councils, should not be eligible to donations from the fund. The idea was to ensure that voluntary bodies would benefit from the fund which did not have access to other public finances.

The ministry said local councils had a role in organising activities for just causes, but they had wider sources of financing. The government’s commitment to local councils is clear, the budget vote for them had been raised from e24 million to e28 million, apart from other schemes yielding another e1.5 million.

Local councils, the ministry added, could also benefit from the EU Leader Plus programme of almost e4 million.